The Lord of the Mages
by ApologeticGuy
Summary: A failure mage, trying her best to master the art of magic in her world. A gravekeeper, whose past is an enigma and only wishes to return to his old life. When the two are combined, the world will tremble as their footsteps echo throughout the land upon which they both stand. There will be OCs here and this will be AU as well.
1. Chapter 1: The Arrogant Familiar of Zero

Disclaimers first: I do not own the Zero no Tsukaima franchise.

Also:

-"BLAH." = conversation

-"_BLAH" = _thoughts

-"**BLAH" **= POV

This is the second time that I've written a fanfic about something. After a year of hiatus and RL stuff, I've decided to try my hand in writing and stuff. I really don't have that much to say but I hope that you'll enjoy this.

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**My blood runs cold as I stay here in this grassy plain filled with marble grave markers. Every second that I spend here is like an unbearable torture to me as I remember that day. A war… no, a nightmare; where men and women of different races from all corners of the universe united to fight 'them'. This is one of the fields where we fought 'them' with all that we have to the bitter end. Tragedies happened on this graveyard, tragedies that could have been avoided had they kept their hands away from us. This field reeks of death and blood even after the nightmare ended ten years ago, a nightmare that still haunts those who participated at the great bloodletting.**

**Friends, families, acquaintances, lovers, young, old, none are discriminated by the nightmare that happened here. Many died here in many ways possible. Life meant nothing as death loomed. I've hated every passing minute that I continued fighting here ten years ago. I've feared every seconds that were about to come as I spent my time fighting and surviving ten years ago. Emotions were raw and bare as the fighting and killing continued.**

**"Feena… I'm sorry that this happened…" I've laid a white rose on top of a small, marble gravestone with a plaque of 'Elfeniam Darvalus Crestwell – Sister, friend, warrior, lover.' next to an another white flower that was freshly lain as well, "You didn't deserve this terrible fate, Feena… Getting buried down there is not your fate. You never deserved to die in a battlefield at all." I deserved that death, not you.**

**Tears rolled down from my eyes for the first time. Strange, my tears ran out after seeing her dead and dying on my arms, saying my name and a wish for a life in the peaceful countryside of Zadokitzhe along with me. I never thought that I'll regain my ability to cry once more after ten years. Heh, time must have healed me after all those years of self-loathing.**

**I planted a staff with a curled head on top of her grave. This is my last gift to her before I leave my post as the grave keeper of this massive grave. Rest peacefully and well, Feena. I leave you now to the care of the nature and time. May the great forces watch over you as you sleep, Feena. A mission of great importance now awaits me.**

**Until we meet again, Lady of the Wind.**

-0-0-0-0-

In a desert, a being that is heavily cloaked and wears a strange mask walks as the sandstorm continues. The long blue feathered ornament on top of his head goes against the winds as it continues to walk, resisting the forces of nature. A small shield that has the top part covered with a small part of his muffler and has an emblem of an eagle carrying a saber and a book is gathering some sand and damaging its paint. His shoulder guards that are covered with cloth are taking damage as well as the storm continues. He trudges the sandy plain, carrying with him a number of different headed staves and staffs behind his back. It walks against the storm, carefully picking his steps to prevent tripping.

"Hmmm... Something is not right..." it said as the storm slows down.

"... Hear..." a voice of a girl said in the middle of nowhere, "Lou..." its dismembered tone added as the storm slows down.

"This does not bode well..." the cloaked being, now lightly coated with sand, took out a staff with a large, black orb as its head and a short sword made of white metal, "Show yourself. Do not hide in the dimensional gates. I know you are-."

Without warning, a black portal of a size of a door opened under his feet. The being couldn't react as he fell down into the darkness. With nothing to hold on to prevent his descent to the darkness, all that he can do is flail his arms while holding his staff and sword.

-0-0-0-0-

_I can do this! I will do this! I will summon a familiar of my own!_,are the thoughts of a pink haired little girl in a black cloak as she chants next to a balding man in a dark blue cloak. They are surrounded by a number of others who wears the same cloak as hers, _Please don't fail! Please don't fail!_

As she continues to chant, a small light appears in front of her. The spectators nearby are shocked and begins to murmur words of the chanter actually managing to cast a successful spell. The pinkette ignored the comments of the others and continues to pour in more words while the light grows bigger and bigger. Her eyes are filled with determination; she filled her thoughts of successfully summoning a familiar and not failing this very spell.

As the light grows as large as the balding man and takes shape, sand and wind swept through the light. Most of the spectators shielded their eyes to prevent sand from entering their eyes. They begin to think of what would happen if the girl fails and instead summoned a sand storm. The girl closes her eyes and continues her chant.

_This must be my familiar's power! The power of earth! I must finish this spell to prove that I'm not Louise the Zero! I will finish my summoning and show them that I am not a Zero!_

Soon, the sand storm intensifies as her chant comes to the near end. The balding man's body begins to sway but he refuses to budge away to see through the ceremony. Same goes to the pink haired girl who is determined to prove herself to her peers. The light begins to take shape of a humanoid. The man who is overseeing the ceremony saw a strange shape of an arm with a sword and a staff on its hand. He prepares for the worst if the summoned being is dangerous. When the girl's chant ends, the sand storm begins to quell down, to the spectator's relief. When they begin to uncover their face to see what the girl has done, their jaws dropped as they saw a heavily cloaked and masked being carrying many staves of different heads at his back and hand along with a strange sword made of white metal.

The being became aware that it isn't in the darkness anymore. It knows that he is not in the desert and in his world anymore. He looked around and saw many caped and uniformed beings mumbling on what he is. Many of them seem to make speculations of him being some commoner in a costume who was paid by a girl named 'Louise' to be summoned. While others hushed them since they think that he is nobility and an extremely capable mage. He looked at the spectators with a critical eye, analyzing the crowd that surrounds him. The spectators, on the other hand, are too scared and rigid to even make a sound as the glare of the being beneath his mask intimidated them.

"W… what the…" a girl's voice said in a language that he seems to have no understanding for the time being, "Who… who…" it stutters out of fear.

"Hrmmm?" it grunted as he looked at her with the same critical eye, causing others to be filled with fear.

"I'm… I'm… I am Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere!" she said as she took out her courage.

"I am Sagasso Trentwood, Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere." it said in the same language as her, hoping that it is speaking it properly and hopefully, without accent, "May I know where and why am I here?" it added as he sheaths his sword underneath its cloak and put his black orb staff behind him.

"You are summoned here to become my familiar, Sagasso Trentwood." the pink haired girl answered straightly, "You are in Tristain's Academy of Magic." she added as she took out her wand, "May you please take off your mask and headgear so that we could complete the ritual?" she asked, hoping that the being will not be angered by her order.

"You are asking me to take off my mask?" it said in a dark voice as he surrounds himself with an ominous aura.

"Louise! Get away from him, right now!" a red headed tanned girl whose body is rather sexy and exposed shouted at the pinkette.

"I will not von Zerbst!" Louise turned to her and shouted back before averting her gaze back to him, "And yes, I am asking you to take of your mask." she added, determined to see through the end of her ceremony.

"You have the guts to ask me to remove my mask and turban, little girl." it said as he took out both of his black gloved hands from underneath its cloak.

The spectators are afraid of what might come next after what she just said. They are thinking about what might happen to her once the being get its evil hands on her. Others are afraid of what might be under the mask if it was taken off and imagined of a creature with a terrible face that can destroy the mind of others. Louise, on the other hand, did not show any fear and continued her eye contact with the masked being named Sagasso. Her only chance to prove her worth is right in front of her and she will not show any fear to her summoned familiar.

"Professor Colbert!" the red headed girl called for the balding man near the two, "Please do something before Louise gets hurt!" she said with a genuine concern in her voice.

"Stay out of this." Sagasso said to him in a darker and more ominous voice as he brings his hands to his turban and mask, "Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere…" it said as he removes the two things that obstruct the view of its facial appearance.

Everyone was quite surprised to see a beautiful face of long haired blond man underneath its mask and turban. He dropped his two headgears on the ground and looked at the courageous pinkette with his steel blue eyes. He serenely smiled at her and kneeled down to her size and said…

"I am impressed that you dare to ask me to take off my mask, Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere. No one has ever asked me to show my face without showing any sign of fear ever since the day I wore it. Even the elementals fear what is underneath my mask." he said in a boastful tone, causing her to blush a bit while making others gawk at him and his strange display of introduction, "You, on the other hand, did not show any form of cowardice and ordered me to take it off. For your show of bravery, you managed to take hold of my interest. And for doing so, I shall be your familiar and serve you… for now that is." he added and said the last part with emphasis.

"My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Bless this humble being and make him my familiar." she tapped her wand on his forehead and kneeled down to kiss him, surprising the young man at the same time.

After that, Sagasso's face seems to have contorted a bit after feeling pain shooting right up on his left hand. He resisted the pain and waited for it to subside before standing up and see what happened to his left hand by taking off his black glove. What he saw are runes of which he did not understand. The balding man stepped forward to see what is on his arm and taking note of it. After that, he then congratulates Louise on her success of having the scary being as a familiar.

"I must say that I nearly cancelled the familiar ceremony after feeling that dangerous aura that he emitted." the man said to Louise, "I hope you get along with your new familiar, Louise." he added before turning his eyes to Sagasso, who is now putting pack his mask and turban before turning his eyes to everyone, "Class dismissed."

When classes are dismissed, everyone flew away from the sandy court, leaving the cloaked being and the pinkette behind. Louise looked at the being that she just summoned and asked…

"Are you a noble by any chance?" she said as she watched him fit his mask turban, "If you are, I am so sorry for making you go through this process… I never thought that-…"

"I am not a nobleman, Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere." Sagasso said in a quiet tone, "I am more of a travelling detective. Though I will not bore you of my story of life." he added as he took out a short stick made of oak.

He raised the stick and opened a small hole on the ground, causing all of the sand in the court to be sucked into it. Louise was shocked to see the court, all clean and free of sand in a matter of seconds. Sagasso took his stick back into his cloak and hid it there.

"You used magic! Surely you are of nobility, Sagasso Trentwood!" she said with a troubled look on her face, "What have I done? Enslaving a nobleman and turning him into a familiar…" she added with anguish as her legs gave in to the fact that she made a nobleman a familiar.

"I am not going to just stand here and listen to you making a great deal out of turning me into your familiar, Miss Louise." Sagasso said as he looked at his environment, "The person who is brave enough to stand up to me must not be weak kneed on the fact that she subdued powerful magister like myself. Now stand up and show me the same bravery and courage that you have shown to me a while ago." he added with authority that surprised Louise.

"… You're right, familiar…" she said as she picked herself up and steeled herself, "I am your master now. And you will do as I say." she said with confidence.

"That's the spirit, Miss Louise." he chuckled, "Now; I may be your servant, Miss Louise. But that does not mean that I will be following most of your command."

"Wait, what?!" Louise blurted out, "Why are you saying things that are redundant compared to your last statements, familiar?!"

"Because I am meant to be your protector; not some sort of a common household helper." he answered her in a dark tone, "If I were to be asked to do your laundry, I will burn all of your clothes and leave you naked and bare. If I were to be asked to dress and undress you, I will also do the same as the former. If you make me do menial tasks, I will do otherwise instead. If you treat me as a common dog, I will ensure you that I will give you a hellhound that I will summon straight from the depths of Helheim and watch you try to subjugate it as I lounge from a safe distance." he said in a harsh and arrogant tone, "I may be serving you, but that doesn't mean you can ask me to do whatever things you want and force your whim unto myself. Only those who have commanded my total trust and respect shall have the honor of having me as a loyal servant."

"You dare to make demands, Familiar?!" Louise said indignantly as she listened to Sagasso's words, "But you said that I managed to get your respect a while ago, familiar."

"You only have my interest, not my respect." the being corrected her before she could finish her sentence, "There's a great difference between respect and interest. Just because you managed to have me as your familiar doesn't mean that you have a common servant, Miss Louise."

"You are a demanding familiar… A very demanding familiar to be precise." she said in a frustrated tone as she crossed her arms.

"That's because I prefer to be treated as a person and not as some sort of an animal." Sagasso rebutted, "If you treat me like a normal person, then I will help you out in your task and probably do more than that." he proposed to her, saying the last part in a strange and smooth tone, "Of course, if you treat me like an animal, then I will act like an animal and not care about what you feel."

"I… I'll think about this." Louise turned around, with a hint of hesitation on her tone, "For now, we should go back to the castle." she suggested before walking forward.

"Why not fly like the rest of your friends, Miss Louise?" he asked as he followed her.

"Because I'm terrible at using magic…" she answered as she walks while hiding her reddened face.

"I see…" was all that Sagasso could say.

-0-0-0-0-

Inside the castle, most of the students who are walking along the corridor made way for Louise and her cloaked familiar who are passing by as well. Sagasso can hear them, whispering at each other's ear of the familiar that Louise summoned from their own version of hell. Few say that his face is the face of evil that caused many of them to shiver. He also recognized a few familiar faces from the gathering that are either moving along out of fear or blush uncontrollably after seeing what is underneath his mask. Louise also became the center of the rumors and gossips. Those who say that her familiar was a commoner was silenced after seeing the staves that he carries with him, especially one staff that has a head of a fear stricken man. Either way, there's a mixed emotion of fear and anxiety from the bystanders as the two pass by. Louise didn't know whether what she could express other than embarrassment or fear. Sagasso however, did not care and continues to give the crowd an analytical eye (which they consider as a killer's gaze) as they pass by.

"Please don't intimidate others, familiar…" Louise muttered under her breath as she and her familiar walks along the corridor, "I don't want them to think that I summoned a murderous familiar."

"I'm only looking around in this backwater of an establishment that you call 'school'." Sagasso also replied in a low tone, "I'll also guess that this place also has a terrible plumbing and sanitary system that could make the slums in my world look top-class."

"Stop saying whatever the things that you want to say, Sagasso Trentwood…" the pinkette replied with a little force on her tone, "And what do you mean by your world?"

"I'll speak about my world in private." Sagasso said in a quiet tone, "Right now, you should be ready for a nice conversation with a redheaded faux Succubus and her blue haired friend." he said as he watches the same red haired woman whose cleavage and curves are quite exposed along with a bespectacled blue haired girl who is now reading a leather bound book come towards them.

"Oh hello, Louise the Zero." the redhead greeted the now agitated Louise in a teasing manner, "It seems that you have managed to tame the masked prince and turn him into your familiar, huh? Not bad for a Zero like you."

"Of course he's my familiar! I summoned him in the first place, von Zerbst!" Louise gritted her teeth, "He said that I am worthy enough to be his master as well after standing up to him." she added while puffing her chest.

"Why do you hide your handsome face, Sagasso Trentwood?" the von Zerbst woman ignored Louise and went close to the cloaked being, "Your beauty should be shown to the world rather than be kept under those restricting accessories. Why should you be ashamed in showing your face when you have nothing to be embarrassed about?" she asked as she runs her fingers on his shield/chest plate.

"Because I will not just show my face to anyone, Miss von Zerbst." the cloaked man said in a polite manner, "Only those who have piqued my interest can see it. You are not one of those who have my interest." he added with a hint of the same arrogance that Louise experienced a while ago.

"You've heard my familiar, von Zerbst. He is not interested in becoming your toy." Louise added as well to strengthen his claim, "You may now leave him alone for he has no interest of you."

"Playing hard to get, huh?" von Zerbst still ignored Louise and talks to Sagasso in a flirty tone, "You should know that I, Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst, will cast a never ending flames of passion on you once I have received your approval of seeing that glorious face underneath that façade that you use." she seductively said as she turns around (and letting Sagasso see her behind sway), "I will not lose to Louise the Zero, who has my darling in her iron grip. Come, Tabitha." she called the bespectacled friend, "Let us retreat for now." she added as they walk away.

"Right." was all the blue haired girl named Tabitha could say as she follows Kirche.

"That bitch in heat…" Louise gritted her teeth as she watches the two leave, "Sagasso, don't you dare get too close with that whore."

"She is not my type." the cloaked being said in a solemn tone, "From where I come from; she could be mistaken as a Succubus for her… strange behavior. And I am not the type who would fall easily to her charms."

"You really mean what you say, familiar?" Louise asked as she looked him with a doubtful look in her face.

"I have had my fill with that kind of seduction, Miss Louise." he answers her as they continue their walk.

As the two continues to walk, Sagasso also saw the same blond boy from the previous gathering, flirting with a brown haired girl who wears a lighter colored cloak. He nearly took his hands out and covered his ears as he listened to the blonde's cheesy lines. Louise seems to have not noticed her familiar's displeasure towards her classmate's action since his face is covered with a mask. The cloaked being turned familiar meanwhile silently makes fun of the boy's lines as they pass through.

-0-0-0-0-

"You expect me to sleep on top of that pile of trash, Miss Louise?" Sagasso asked with displeasure as he set his eyes on the small mound of hay that Louise pointed near her bed, "I am not pleased with this kind of an arrangement."

"Well I refuse to let a familiar sl-..." before Louise could finish her sentence, she received another harsh and cold glare from the cloaked being, forcing her to stop talking.

"This pile of trash is best used as a cattle feed rather than a bed. The sight of it alone screams 'animal' and 'poor' in my opinion." he arrogantly complained as he kicked the mound of hay, "Do you people even know of using spatial magic?"

"Spatial magic?" the pinkette curiously looked at him when he said the word, "What is this spatial magic that you speak off?"

"Oh wait. I forgot the fact that this world is a backwater at its finest compared to my world. Silly me, I shouldn't have said that since you are still a neophyte in the world of magic." the cloaked being gave a noble's laugh as he took out the same stick that he used to clean the courtyard and removed all of the scattered hay, "Spatial magic is one of the main branches of chronomancy that studies space and the manipulation and usage of it. The research of it ushered many wonderful things like the bags of holding, the END rooms, spatial towns, and many more."

"And what are these items that you speak off?" Louise, who is now interested of what is Sagasso speaks off, asked, "Are they that valuable to people, familiar?"

"Yes. Our research of magic and science created many wonders. Spatial magic is one of them." he explained while looking around, "Then again; I'm guessing that this world is a backwater world that will not advance in their study on magic."

"Well we'll have those things in the future!" Louise cried in an attempt to change Sagasso's belief on how uncivilized their world is, "You'll see!"

"Well judging on the ones who are only allowed to study magic are nobles, I don't think so." he quipped as he took out a palm-sized door and a piece of paper with a complicated magic circle from underneath his cloak, "From where I come from, magic isn't monopolized by the bourgeois classes. Anyone who wants to learn magic and wishes to contribute to it are always welcome and not discriminatory." he added as he kneeled down near his summoner's closet.

"Wait… What are you doing?" she asked curiously while Sagasso placed the small door on a piece of paper with a very complicated magic circle drawn on it.

"Creating my own room, Miss Louise..." he said as he took off his gloves and nipped his fingers to draw blood, "I will not sleep in a room with an unmarried lady." he added as he poured small amount of blood on the paper, causing it to react in a strange way.

"Wait, what?! You can't just deface my room like so! How are you going to make your room without any material and/or space?" Louise asked in a shocked tone, "Better yet, how will you build this room of yours, familiar?"

"Shut up and watch me, Miss Louise." Sagasso answered with a casual tone, "Now stand back."

Louise saw the door grew to the same size of her door in a blink of an eye. Sagasso opened the door and added more to Louise's surprise as she saw a room that makes her room a commoner's room. The white room was rather larger than any of the noble's room. The room has a small library of books on the left corner next to a black window that shows nothing on it and large pillows made of jelly. There's a small furnace and anvil near the shelves and racks filled with assorted armors and weapons at the right corner of the room. The room also have a receiving area with a three comfort chairs and a sofa made of black leather. She also saw three other doors with the label that she couldn't understand that are located to a small stair that leads to the bed on the room's upper area near the library as well.

Sagasso whistled, causing three floating white creatures with soft fur, long ears and legs, and large red eyes in front of the two. The three looked excited at the sight of the cloaked being and took off his outer clothes, staff quiver, and headgear, leaving him in his gray shirt that looked weathered and black pants that is a bit dusty on the ankle parts.

"You know, if you want any laundry done, you could ask for their help." he said as he makes his way to the receiving area to take a seat.

"What… What kind of a room is this?" Louise asked as she looked around and gawked at the room even bigger than hers.

"This is my bedroom, Miss Louise." he answered, "Take a seat, Miss Louise. I wouldn't want to tell my tale if one is not comfortable as I speak." he added as one of the creature returned with a cart filled with sweets and tea and help the creature place the snacks.

"Okay…" she said as she walks towards one of the seats and sat down, "What is this seat made of? It's softer than my bed." she said as she adjusts herself on the comfort seat.

"It's made of memory foam, Miss Louise." Sagasso said as he filled one of the cups with tea and pass it on to Louise, "And I crafted that chair to make it comfortable."

"You made this furniture?" the pinkette asked as she drank some of the tea.

"All of the furniture here is made by my own hands to be precise." he corrected her before sipping tea, "Now, what would you like to know about me, Miss Louise?"

"I'd like to know what country you came from, familiar." Louise asked as she took one of the plates with a chocolate cake slice.

"I'm from a different world, Miss Louise." he answered Louise honestly, "A world where the noble/commoner nonsense is but a nonsensical and idiotic way of segregating people."

"What do you mean by those words?" she asked curiously as she eats some parts of the cake.

"I am from a world where rank and birth doesn't matter as long as we have as we can pull our weight and be productive." he answered Louise's query, "Nobility or not, all is given an equal treatment. Anyone can become anyone as long as they follow the laws that their nation."

"So, you're living in an uncivilized world where chaos and disorder happens just because no noble is there to guide them?" Louise asked with pity in her voice.

"I'd rather not make my story into a debate, Miss Louise." Sagasso commented, "Then again, a native in a backwater world like this wouldn't understand the joys of equality and rights that I enjoy in my world." he smirked as he took a cookie from a plate and take a bite on it.

"Well we have equality and rights in this world too, familiar!" Louise blurted out to try and change her familiar's thought of her world being a backwater once more.

"Tell me one story when you have mingled with the commoners and treated them like as if they are your equals." he asked Louise while munching on a cookie.

Silence enveloped the room after Sagasso asked her to recall a tale of her mingling with a commoner as a person. He smirked at her loss of word and continues to drink his tea.

"I thought so." he said with an air of superiority, "In my world, I've once served a king who is not above hard labor and willing to work with the castle's staff whenever he has time. He personally gave a hand to the farmers who are short of able-bodied men."

"A king who acts like a commoner… What kind of a backward world is that?" the pinkette asked with a hint of pity in her voice, "What's next, a princess marrying a commoner?"

"Well that happened to one of my best friends." he smiled at her face that is filled with shock, "She was also blessed by the royal family when she married him and still considered her a family despite her marriage to a commoner. Not that anyone who can think right in my world would even give a damn about her status." he added as he emptied his teacup.

"Just like that, she got married to a commoner? She wasn't disowned by her family? Her lover was not even punished?" she gulped her tea and coughed a little, causing one of the white creatures to come close to her with a glass of water on its paws, "Does she even have a sense of decency or respect to herself?!"

"You know, listening to you insulting her choice is making me upset." Sagasso growled as his eyebrows slanted before refilling his teacup and calm his nerves, "She really loved him that she even fought an army to get him back." he said in a calmed tone as he sips his tea and rage away.

Suddenly, the sound of a loud bell ringing is heard from the bed of Sagasso. Louise nearly dropped her glass of water and saw Sagasso, removing the sleeve near his left wrist and looked at the strange black armband that has a metal bit on it. He then put the sleeve back and yawned as he signaled the two white creatures to remove the plates, cups, utensils, and glasses from the table.

"I think you should go back to your room and go to sleep, Miss Louise." Sagasso said as he stood up and stretched a bit, "You have businesses to do tomorrow, right?"

"I know that, familiar." Louise said as she stood up and dusted herself, "Anyway, could you ask those things to clean my laundry?" she pointed at one of the floating furball who are cleaning up the table.

"Bring the laundry outside the door and they will clean it for you, Miss Louise." he yawned as he went towards a door with a 'BATHROOM' label on it, "Anyway, have a pleasant dream, Louise." he added as he opened the Bathroom's door.

-0-0-0-0-

Outside the strange room of her familiar, Louise took off her clothes and undergarments and placed them on a wicker basket filled with soiled and dirty laundry. She looked outside of her window and saw the stars shining brightly every second. She then looked at the spot where her familiar is supposed to be sleeping. The fact that her familiar is an arrogant, contemptuous, and braggart of a man who considers her lands as a backwater and knows a type of magic that seems to be alien to her seems to have taken its effect her confidence.

_Then again, he did say that he is interested in her thanks to my qualities. _Louise thinks at what Sagasso said as she slipped her pink and silken nightgown,_ but what if that familiar is right? He maybe an arrogant and blunt person but…, _thinking of the things that he said and shown to her, _No, he might be lying__ through__ his teeth. That must be it. I must show him who his master is, no matter what it takes._

Her eyes became heavy as she thinks of the events that happened a while ago. Not caring for anything else as her mind and body decided that today has been hectic to her. She then fell asleep, letting all of her worries fly and dream. Hoping that all of the things that transpired would be all but a dream.

-0-0-0-0-


	2. Chapter 2: Lessons, Duels, and Success

Hello guys, thanks for reading my fanfic. I wished that I got more reviews though... But still, I'm glad that there are people who like my story.

Anyway, this chapter will be the start of an AU for the Familiar of Zero. I might end up having few characters go OOC. And for that, I am so sorry about it. I'd like to explain some more about the reason on why will it take an AU path but that would kill the surprise. However, I do have a clue to give to you on the reason why this happened. Let's just say that Louise's failure to cast spells up to the time when she summoned Sagasso did something to the FoZ world.

Oh and Imma remind you all that I do not own the Familiar of Zero before you read it.

* * *

"Where am I? Why am I in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by numerous gravestones far and wide?"** these are my questions as I found myself lying on a grassy plane and next to a gravestone with words that I couldn't understand, **"What is this place?"

**Asking questions will not do anything. So I'll have to look for the one in-charge of this area and ask him on the location that we are currently in. This place might be the place where commoners are buried-.**

"I see that we have a visitor here." **turning my head, I saw a brown skinned girl who is as old as me. Her hair's black, just like the maid that works at the academy. She's wearing a sleeveless white tunic and loose pants that are made of cotton. Her arms are bandaged for and she's barefooted. What is wrong with these commoners and their weird taste for clothing, **"Welcome, visitor! Are you lost by any chance perhaps?" **she asked me while wearing that stupid, toothy grin on her face.**

"Where is this place? I need to know where in the hell am I?" **I demanded, I'm already disturbed on the fact that I awoke in some commoner graveyard. Does she even know whom she's talking to?**

"Well, I definitely know that this place is a graveyard. Though I can't remember the name of this place..." **stupid commoners, **"I think that this place is the place where unsung heroes are buried."

"Unsung heroes?" **okay, this commoner got my attention. What did she mean by unsung heroes? And why haven't I heard of this place?**

"Unsung heroes." **she nodded while looking at one grave with a staff with a curled head is protruded on its ground, **"Unsung heroes who fought and died stopping evil from consuming our worlds." **wind blew gently while she is talking. Admittedly, this breeze is quite nice, **"Countless legends died and birthed from this very graveyard that you tread on, dear. Show some respect and don't think of this place as a 'commoner's' graveyard." **what the, how did she know what I was thinking?**

"How did you-?" **before I could finish what I was about to say, she held a palm on face and shushed me, the nerve of this undertaker.**

"The winds told me of what is inside your mind, Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere. And what you were thinking about this sacred ground as some common graveyard is quite insulting to the people who died here and the legacies left by those people who died here. Kings, queens, great leaders, soldiers, lovers, family men, and children are buried here. All of them sacrificed their lives and protected the very world and ideals that we valued with all of our heart. And you dare to treat this place as nothing more than a common graveyard?" **I never felt so low in my life. Her harsh words, said in a calm tone made it painful for me to listen to. I stared at her brown eyes; they were filled with rage, rage that was brought out thanks to my disrespect towards the ones who are buried here.**

"I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have thought of that..." **I apologized repeatedly. Never in my life have I ever apologized to a commoner. She then put her hands on my shoulder and made me sit on the grassy plains and next to a marble grave along with her.**

"It's all right, Louise." **I looked at her face as she smiled in a way that reminded me of my Big Sister Cattleya, **"I am not angry, nor disappointed. After all, people who come here for the first time tend to forget about what this place is. Though I'd like to talk with you as a punishment for disregarding this place as a 'commoner's' graveyard." **I nodded to her 'punishment sentence' and smiled a bit. She looked a bit weird, but sitting down here might not be bad... the breeze here makes me feel like I'm home, despite the fact that this place is a grave.**

**And so we talked. We both talked about many things. Before I knew it, I am telling her all about my life and my problems. She was a good listener, just like my sister. She didn't interrupt me as she listens to me, telling all of my problems. I felt all of my troubles getting washed away as I recall my stories in life while the winds gently breezed. I never told anyone of my problems before. All of my schoolmates would rather call me names and make fun of me. I felt alone back in the academy. But right now, I'm not feeling any loneliness.**

"You can't cast a spell at all?" **she asked innocently, I nodded at her question, confirming that she is right, **"I've never heard of a mage who fails at spellcasting. Nor have I ever heard of a mage that can't use magic."

"Well you're looking at one right now..." **I hung my head in shame. My inability to cast a spell can be quite depressing to me.**

"I have a friend who thinks that he is a failure as a spellcaster once." **wait, this girl is actually a good friend of a noble?, **"He usually mess up most of his spells and was once made fun off by his peers." **this girl's eyes seems to have a strange look in her eyes, **"He felt that the world was overbearing for him and nearly quitted studying magic to become a soldier..."

"Did he actually do it?" **I asked her, since I felt that her friend was similar to me, a failure who felt that the world was against him.**

"Nope, rather than wallowing on self-pity and failure..." **she stood up and looked at the staff that was protruded on one of the graves, **"He fought on. He refused to be left to the dust and persevered. No matter how many failures that he created, he considered them as stepping stones to a success." **she said those words with great admiration to the noble that she speaks off, **"He kept on going, caring less about the pain and suffering that he tackled and took on, face first. He continued until he became one of the greatest mage that ever stood in our world."

**Whoever this mage is, I'm already respecting him. I'm not the only one who is having a hard time learning how to cast a single spell. **

**I always thought of quitting, just like him. **

**I always let my failures get the best of me. **

**And yet the man that she speaks of, he didn't do so. He steeled himself and carried on despite the fact that the world was against him.**

"Well, I better get going." **she said as she walked away from me, **"The exit is easy to find. All you have to do is to open your eyes." **she waved her hand as the winds breezed gently for the last time, **"Good luck with your endeavours in life, Louise."

"Wait! Tell me his name first!" **I want to know his name. I want to learn from him!**

"You should ask him that yourself if you two ever meet each other. By the way, the name's Feena." **she added as everything around me is suddenly bathed in light.**

-0-0-0-0-

"Miss Louise, time to wake up now." Sagasso, now standing at the bedside of Louise and wearing the same outfit that he wore yesterday, said, "It's time for you to go to classes."

"Mmmmrhrrhh..." the pinkette grumbled as her eyes opened, "Who are you?"

"I'm your familiar, Sagasso Trentwood." the cloaked man said indignantly, "Don't forget my name or else." he added with an ominous tone.

"Whatever, familiar..." she rudely said to him, "Bring me my uniform and dress me."

Silence followed after what she said. Louise thought that Sagasso didn't know where her clothes were. Then she suddenly remembered what her familiar said to her yesterday. Sagasso's sides were suddenly surrounded by small flames and went towards the closet. The pinkette realized that if she didn't stop him, she will have nothing to wear but her nightgown. She immediately jumped out of her bed and blocked the closet from the cloaked figure that has flames dancing around him.

"Hoh, that was fast, Miss Louise." he said in a sweet tone that made Louise shiver at the sound of it, "Don't worry, I'm just going to warm your clothes since you might complain on how cold your clothes are." though the mask is blocking his face, Louise can sense that malice and dark intentions are written all over Sagasso's face.

"No. Go away! Stay away from my clothes, Sagasso!" she said in a scared and nervous tone, "Don't you dare touch my clothes!" she said as she shields her closet with her body from her familiar's path of vengeance, "You are not allowed to touch my clothes from now on, okay?! Now get outside and wait for me there!" she ordered him.

Almost immediately, the flames that surround the cloaked familiar died out. Louise sighed and made a mental note to never ask him to dress her unless she wants to become an exhibitionist. Sagasso decided that she knows whom she's dealing with and went out at her request.

"Better hurry up in getting dressed. Time is running out." his voice said to her in a teasing tone.

"I know that, for Founder's sake!" Louise shouted back as she took out her uniform and slipped out of her nightgown.

-0-0-0-0-

Outside, Sagasso stood by and waits for Louise to finish her morning businesses. He looked around the hallways and observed the other students that come and go. Most of them would rather pass the other side of the corridor rather than going through him, gossiping about the sadistic monster disguised as Louise's familiar. Though there are some who say that what is underneath the mask was a beautiful prince, the former was more prevalent due to how intimidating he looks. The staves that he carried didn't help at all when one of his staff that has a head of an expressionless human suddenly contorted itself and looked like it was grinning maniacally, causing the shrieks of some who saw it suddenly change.

The cloaked man did not mind their mindless chatter and smirked underneath his mask at the look of their faces. He knows that they saw one of his staves suddenly switch face that made them a bit jittery. He'll definitely enjoy laughing at their irrational fear if he ever got a chance to explain the harmlessness of the said staff. The Staff of Emotions allows the user to draw out powerful magical attacks if the user feeds it with his own emotions. It could also change the emotion of his opponents to the user's own advantage depending on what emotion the user is feeling right now.

_Though I'd rather use my other staves than using the Staff of Emotion, too random and too simple for my own good... _Sagasso said to himself inside his mind. _If one's concentrated too much on one emotion, you'll end up losing your mind and go crazy while you're holding the staff. Worst case scenario would be me, unable to express other emotions except the one that I used to power it for the rest of my life. I don't really want to something that has a negative effect on my psyche unless I'm that desperate anyway, _he added with a cautious tone inside his mind.

"Well hello there, masked prince." a sultry voice nearby caught Sagasso's attention, "Waiting for your master?"

"Miss von Zerbst." he looked at his side and saw Kirche and the blunette reading a book named Tabitha, both of them are blocking the door of Louise's room, "I'm waiting for her to finish. Move along or else you will be late for classes." he suggested to her.

"I don't mind being tardy. Classes can be so drab and boring." the redhaired bombshell dismissed Sagasso's suggestion, "I want have some excitement. I want to have some-."

"You can have those after you have finished your studies, Miss von Zerbst." he interrupted her 'bored student' speech with common sense, "Education is the most vital building block of a society. Without it, there would be no society, no community, and no civilization. Sacrificing the chance to learn something for the sake of trivial things is foolish beyond comparison." the cloaked man didn't hide is disdain towards her and her regards towards education, "If you're just here just to slake your own thirst for pleasure and waste precious time and money, then you are in a wrong place to do those things, Miss von Zerbst."

Tabitha cocked her head from the book that she is reading and looked at Sagasso when he said his piece of mind. Kirche, despite the fact that she was lectured by a cloaked familiar, was undeterred by what she received. Not a good sign for him.

"Oh my... What a strict, masked prince~..." Kirche covered her lips and blushed at what Sagasso said while the latter frowned at her stubbornness, "Very well, if you wish for me to learn, then I will do it..." she leaned Sagasso and trailed her fingers towards his mask, "Let's learn about each other then~."

"Door." Tabitha backed away from Kirche when the door slammed open, causing Kirche to get pushed away from the cloaked familiar by the door.

"Get away from my familiar, Zerbst." an incredibly angered Louise said to Kirche while emitting an aura that could instantly instill fear towards those who are of weaker will, "Haven't he told you yesterday that he isn't interested with a faux Succubus like you?" she hissed while Zerbst looked surprised and amused at the pinkette's reaction.

"If it isn't Louise the Zero~, being a spitfire at her finest in the morning." Kirche teased her and watches her turn red just like her hair, "You sure are holding an iron grip on my beloved, huh~?" she infuriates the little mage even more, "Do you plan to take away his innocence while you still hold him in your grasps, Zero~?"

Sagasso winced when she said that he was 'innocent'. He definitely wanted to make an 'I'm still here' cough to remind Kirche that he can still hear her. However, Louise took a hold on Sagasso's cloak and dragged him away from the current company before it escalates into something worse. Her blush was quite imminent when the redheaded girl suggested the fact that she wanted to remove his chastity. Tabitha buried her face on the book she is currently reading, apparently embarrassed on what her friend just said.

"Let's go and have some breakfast before the first classes." Louise said monotonously as she walked like a robot with Sagasso on the tow, "Talking with that faux Succubus is making me angry..." she added as the gap between her and Kirche is great.

"I already had my breakfast." Sagasso informed the blushing pinkette, "I don't know what you might give me for breakfast so I decided to eat my breakfast in my room." the statement made Louise stop and loosen her grip of his cloak.

"You... had breakfast already?" she asked.

"Well the Dreamhares usually serve my breakfast at my bed." he cheerfully said to her as he grinned at her, shaking from where she stood, "The food that they served today were pancakes with honey, fruit salad, and toasted bread." Louise turned to face him, with puffed cheeks and an angry and jealous glint in her eyes.

"Sagasso..." she said with a voice filled with jealousy, "Next time... I want to have the same arrangement as yours..." she gritted her teeth as she gaze on his eyes, "I too deserve that kind of an arrangement."

"Why?" Sagasso, now smiling happily at her jealous face, asked her.

"Because that would save time, familiar, and I wouldn't have to see that Zerbst whenever I eat. Instead of going into the Dining Hall, I could just eat from my bed! I don't have to go there and eat while others pick on me!" Louise cracked while Sagasso's eyes widened when she said her reason behind asking for such arrangement, "And after that, all I have to do is to go to classes without getting late! Now I want to have white bread with all of its crusts removed, some of that pancake that you speak of along with-."

"The answer is no, Miss Louise. And I'm doing this for your own safety. The Dreamhares really didn't like you when you said that the world where we came from is a barbarian's paradise." Sagasso said to Louise in a carefree tone, "They weren't happy as well when you called their former master who is also the said princess who married a commoner are something akin to an indecent person."

"Wha?" was all that Louise could say. She couldn't believe that the ones that served tea and sweets were actually listening to what she was saying last night. Her request would be rejected immediately thanks to her disrespectful quip that managed to gain their bad sides.

"By the way, the next time you say something bad about their former master..." he added, "They'll add laxatives in your tea and lock the comfort room."

"Laxatives? What is that?" Louise seems to have gotten worried that the Dreamhares are also capable of adding poison on someone's beverages.

"A medicine that would cause you to have some bowel movements, causing you to look for a nearby toilet and release your body wastes." he explained while seeing Louise get a little horrified, "It isn't meant to be drunk by young people since the laxative's effects get stronger that you'll soil your undergarments at the first sign of it."

Louise sighed out of relief when Sagasso explained the effects of the laxatives were not poisonous. Though she is still boggled on the reason why such a terrible concoction is considered a medicine.

"As for your request for breakfast on your bed, that will be denied until the Dreamhares decided to stop harbouring a grudge on you, Miss Louise." Sagasso said in a relaxed manner, "It took me some time to convince them to not put your clothes in a furnace, by the way. So you should thank me for the fact that you still have clothes." he laughed like an annoying noble while Louise looked flustered.

"Let's just go to the Dining Hall, familiar..." Louise said in a low voice, "I don't want to get late in breakfast..." she said as she turned around and started walking.

"Of course, Miss Louise..." Sagasso followed suit as well.

-0-0-0-0-

At Alviss Dining Hall, Louise took a seat in front of the same blond young man with a frilly shirt that Sagasso saw flirting about, though this time; he's flirting with a curly haired blonde. Next to her was Tabitha, who is reading a book and a second year boy that he has never seen in the yesterday's summoning. Sagasso remained standing behind Louise while everyone else prayed their grace before their meals before eating. After saying their prayers, they all started to feast on the large amounts and variety of food lain on the table in front of them. Other students slowed down in their eating and began to stare at the cloaked familiar behind Louise and began to speak of things about him. The blond seems to have taken notice of the talk about the familiar of Louise being a masked demon and smirked at him when he laid his eyes on the man.

"So, this is the rumoured monster that Louise the Zero has summoned, eh?" he said boastfully while taking out a rose from nowhere and waved it a bit.

"Miss Louise, may I kill him?" Sagasso asked Louise in a blunt tone that caused many of the students to shiver out of fear while she choked a bit on her familiar's query.

"Hoh, was that an empty threat, familiar of Zero?" he mustered his arrogance while ignoring the murmurs of others and the Staff of Emotion's sudden change from calm to maniacal.

"No. I really want to kill you, you man whore look-a-like. Though I can't remember the reason why I should kill you..." he playfully commented, causing more shock to other students, "But why should I care about my motives behind killing some worthless, pathetic fop like you? If I wanted to, I could just reach for your neck from here and take off your throat with my bare hands." the blond man paled on what he just said, "Or maybe I should kick your manhood so hard that they will come out from your mouth?" some of the male students made a protective stance on their manhood by covering it with their hands and shuddered.

"Louise, can't you tell that familiar of yours to be quiet while his betters are eating?" the curly haired blonde said in a rude tone to Louise, "That commoner should be lucky that he is here and-."

"Oh goodie... More commoner-noble rights crap that is getting older and older." Sagasso said in a more blunt tone, "Listen, whatever you are saying to me, curly hairs, it wouldn't mean anything to me. Unless you have something useful and/or meaningful things to spit out from that garbage can that you call as your mouth, then I would not listen to anything that you will say." he rudely spat out his words.

"You..." curly hairs seethed while Louise giggled a bit on how her familiar got verbal with her, "Your familiar needs a muffler, Zero. Commoners shouldn't talk rubbish in front of a noble."

"And you should ask man whore to carry around a broom and a dustpan with him since you might accidentally spit crap on the grounds. You wouldn't want the cleaning staff of this Academy to have a hard time cleaning up the places where you littered your crap now, would you?" he rebutted.

"Why you impudent commoner..." she was about to take out her wand when the blond man whore cuts her off, "Guiche! I want to teach this commoner a lesson on humility in front of a noble!"

Sagasso laughed when the curly hairs said the word 'humility' like as if it was a joke. The others seem to begin shaking when he began laughing since they believe that the cloaked monster was incapable of laughing.

"You, teach me about humility?" he pointed at curly hairs before laughing once more, "What's next? You, teaching manwhore next to you on being faithful to one woman?" the blond named Guiche seems to be shaking at the implication, "You know what, I'll go outside and wait for Miss Louise since I don't like the air of idiocy that reeks in here." Sagasso left the Hall while others gawked on how scary and rude Louise's familiar is.

"You should have disciplined that commoner of yours, Zero!" curly hairs angrily complained to Louise, who is now eating a meat stew, "That commoner made a fool out of all of us, you know."

"I could do that but... you know, I'm afraid of him as well." the pinkette said, straining her laughter and amusement, "It's not my fault that my familiar dislikes everyone around him."

-0-0-0-0-

"Stupid nobles of this backwater world and their idiotic backwater caste system..." Sagasso muttered to himself as he leaned on the doorpost next to the doors of the Dining Hall, "From where I come from, we nobles do not mind commoners sitting next to us. We don't care if your blood isn't blue as long as you are not a criminal. And these stupid, spoiled, entitled, arrogant little brats dare to act like as if they own the world? I'll bet that this Academy and the food that they are eating are built and cooked by their commoner's hands..."

"So, are you really a noble?" a girlish voice asked from nowhere.

"Oh yes, I am a noble but I don't care about my title, just like everyone else back at my home world. Having a noble title's not much of a use anyway other than temporarily gaining a little respect and admiration from others and access to few areas that only nobles can enter." he did not take notice of the fact that he is talking to someone else and still complained on how stupid the nobles are, "But still, having the 'noble' title will not make any difference in my world."

"So, you really are a noble whom Louise has summoned." the next thing that Sagasso did after realising the fact that he spilled the beans was turn around and look at the face of a black haired girl who has a well-endowed chest and wears a modest maid's outfit, "Sorry for disturbing you, sir. I thought that-."

"As long as you do not treat me like as if I'm like those refuses and not spread the words about me being one of them, I am fine with that." Sagasso sighed at his own carelessness, "I apologize for letting you see me at my most uncivilized fit of rage and contempt." he said to the maid in an apologetic tone while bowing to her, "I shouldn't have acted like that in front of a lady, Miss..."

"Siesta, good sir." the maid bowed to him, "I must say that I couldn't believe that you dislike the nobles here despite of the fact that you are one of them, sir."

"Don't compare me to those brats, Miss Siesta." the cloaked figure scoffed and pointed his thumb on the doors of the Dining Hall, "Those backwater noble brats are pathetic enough that they wouldn't last five seconds in my world anyway." he added while Siesta smiled at what he just said, "Oh and don't call me 'sir', Sagasso will do."

"I understand, Mr. Sagasso." the maid smiled and blushed a bit, "Though may I ask the reason on why you call this world a 'backwater', Mr. Sagasso?"

"Hmmmm... I have many reasons on why I call this world a backwater, Miss Siesta." he said to her in a boastful tone, "But I wouldn't want to hold you off on your duties as I tell you every reason that I have on calling this world a backwater though."

"Oh my, I almost forgot about that!" she bowed to him, "Thank you for reminding me, Mr. Sagasso!" she then ran off while saying 'oh no' repeatedly.

-0-0-0-0-

Unknown to Sagasso, someone managed to hear his slip of tongue. The one who heard it was none other than the blue haired mage-in-training named Tabitha, who was about to go out from the Dining Hall when she heard the conversation that he had with the maid. The fact that Louise summoned a human familiar managed to rouse her suspicion towards her elemental affinity. She dropped her spectacles on the floor to listen on what the cloaked familiar was saying on the other side of the door.

_This information might be useful in the near future... _Tabitha thought as she walked out of the hall after the conversation was done, _This man might be able to help me out in the near future... _she looked at Sagasso, who still leans on the wall and waiting for his master to finish eating, _But he's also a dangerous opponent... Especially after seeing what he did to the courtyard yesterday..._

"Hrrmmm?" Sagasso turned his head and stared back at Tabitha, "You're Tabitha, right?"

_He used a strange magic that sucked out the sand that was brought with him with the use of a small, ball of energy... _she remembered what happened yesterday when she stayed somewhere where she will not be seen and watched him use a small, wooden rod to clean the area, _I must be careful on what he might do if he decides to use that on humans._

"Are you daydreaming in the middle of the Hallway, Tabitha?" the cloaked familiar asked her bluntly, "You should know that someone might end up having an accident if you do that here." though she may not see what is underneath his cloak, his arms are crossed.

"I see..." was all that Tabitha said before walking away.

"What a strange, little girl..." Sagasso sighed.

_For now, I must observe him and assess his powers... _the blunette thought as she continued reading while walking.

-0-0-0-0-

Outside the academy's proper, a green haired bespectacled woman wearing the staff's maroon cloak and navy blue staff's dress walks in a nearby forest. She walked in there for a few minutes until she finds herself in a clearing with a being in black robes and carries a strange object that is wrapped in a cloth with many runes on it. The woman stopped on her tracks when she saw the being and said...

"The Staff of Destruction is inside the academy." she said to the being, "Are you sure that that thing is better off destroyed?"

"Yes. That staff isn't meant to be held nor kept in a vault of a man who doesn't even know how it works." it said as his robes sway on the breeze, "I am sorry for asking you to do this job, Matilda. But these so-called nobles are too immature to have such weapons in their corrupt hands."

"Osmond may be a simpleminded pervert and a lecherous fiend, but he is definitely not corrupted. He wouldn't let anyone get a hold of powerful weaponries hidden within the walls of the Academy, even if he was asked to give it to the Tristain's royal family to give them one." Matilda said as she crossed her arms under her chests, "I wouldn't like to steal it since it is in safe hands. Not to mention, the weapon's history of being held by a powerful mage that saved Osmond from a dragon. Why would you like it destroyed?"

"Because that weapon can be easily built if one of many accesses to resources and chemicals studies it meticulously, Matilda. Though they might be able to build a primitive imitation of it, chances are that that weapon might be the weapon that those Albion Reconquistas will use to crush all who are in their path." the being spoke in an ominous tone, "Last thing that I want is that my country will reveal itself to Halkeginia and conquer all of it in a matter of months."

"But your country has so much wonderful things. Not only that, the military might of your nation dwarfs the combined forces of Gallia, Germania, Tristain, Albion, and Romalia. Conquering Halkeginia will not be a problem for your people." the green haired woman said out of protest, "Hell, you wouldn't even need an army since you have spies and assassins set throughout Halkeginia, ready to slay every noble and royal families without any problem and weaken the country." she added, "Why is your organization not doing anything aside from observing and destroying every dangerous magical artifacts that are found across Halkeginia?"

The conversation stopped for a while after what Matilda asked. The robed man hummed as he thinks for an answer to the query that she asked. When he stopped humming for a while, he then gave the answer to her question.

"If you wish to know, it's because the so-called 'magical artifacts' are as I've said, dangerous. If one is to give children a pair of sharp scissors, who knows what they might do to them if they were to run around with them." he answered in a cold and calculating tone, "Why should I let someone deranged like that Oliver Cromwell, King Joseph of Gallia, or that bloodthirsty wolf in the guise of a pope, Vittorio Serevare get their hands on the technologies that we created for the sake of defending our homes from... them?" he said the last word with hatred while Matilda looked puzzled as he tells her the reason behind their motives, "We made them to fight against them and their hordes, not cause numerous atrocities and oppress the ones we are supposed to serve and to protect." with cold fury, he finalized what he said.

"... You know, if your country's ideals were also practiced here in Halkeginia before, my family wouldn't have suffered a terrible fate and she wouldn't have to lose her mother..." she said quietly.

"Her?"

"My half-sister... You've saved her three months ago in Saxe-Gotha when the Reconquista tried to abduct her."

"You mean the one with those ungodly..." before the robed figure could finish what he was saying, Matilda gave him a dirty look in the eye, "Optimism... That's what I'm about to say. Not her physical features, okay?"

"Sometimes, I wonder if all men are perverts..." she sighed.

"Well I've never seen a place where women have larger breast sizes that could make the Succubi in my country get a jealous fit." he reasoned with her, "The teenagers here have cup sizes that a fashion model would kill to have!"

"Fashion models?" it was Matilda's turn to get curious this time.

"Never you mind." he forgot the fact that the natives do not know the meaning behind some of the words that he say, "Anyway, if the so-called 'Staff of Destruction' is not destroyed due to some problems..."

"Don't worry about that, I will destroy that artefact." her resolve is seen in her eyes, something that impressed the robed man, "After all, I still have a great debt to pay to you after freeing me from that bastard of a priest and his Tristainian dog." she added before leaving the area, "For now, you should go and fool around while I look for a way to take that staff out from the Academy's vault."

"Sounds like a good idea..." the robed figure snickered as Matilda leaves the clearing.

-0-0-0-0-

Back at the Academy, Sagasso stood by the aisle and examines the insides of the Lecture Room where one of Louise's classes will take place. The way that the Lecture Room was designed and arranged seems to have given a nostalgic feeling on him and sent him in a trip to the memory lane. Louise noticed her familiar's rather mellowed state when he came inside a classroom, a welcoming change since all he did since morning were either insulting students who dared to insult him, making everyone else feel insecure thanks to his appearance, or comparing her 'backwater' world with his 'barbarian' world. Students are either too busy staying out of Louise's way or too busy raging on the fact that her familiar made insulting comments on them, injuring their pride without fail. The students who are inside the classroom, except for Kirche and Tabitha, are eyeing the cloaked man with either disgust or fear and whispers to each other about Louise, being a failure for her inability to control her familiar.

All of the small talks ceased when a brown haired plump woman in a purple cloak and hat with a black dress underneath it entered the room. She seems to have noticed that the class is rather quiet, a nice change since most f the time, she asks the class to settle down first and wait for a few minutes before they would stop. She also noticed the familiar that her colleague, Professor Colbert talked about yesterday. She seems to be a bit wary on him since there were rumours about him being some sort of a monster disguised as a human and insults the students like there was no tomorrow. Thinking of the fact that the familiar is the reflection of the master, the familiar must be Louise's frustrations to her rumoured inability to use magic manifested in a form of a human. Though that was what the students were saying.

"Good Morning everyone." the plump woman greeted everyone once she made it behind her desk.

"Good Morning, Professor Chevreuse." everyone, except Sagasso, stood up and greeted her back.

"Take a seat now." she said and the students complied with it and sat down, "I must congratulate all of you for a job well done in the Springtime Familiar Summoning. I must say that this year's ritual was quite interesting." she looked at Sagasso, who seems to be spacing out before looking at the staves that he carry behind his back with interest, "Those staves are quite interesting..." she muttered before looking away from it, "Miss Valliere, care to give us the elements of magic?"

"Of course, ma'am..." Louise stood up and cleared her throat, "There are at least four known elements that mages use: fire, earth, water, and wind. Though there is also the lost element called 'Void' but no mage was known to be able to manifest such element other than Founder Brimir." she answered the question of her professor in an academic manner.

"Impressive, Miss Valliere." she beamed at Louise before she sat down, "Now, we will be reviewing on the things that we have learned about earth magic and then we will advance to line level spells."

"Hmmmm... Professor Chevreuse, is it?" Sagasso spoke all of the sudden, surprising the rest of the class and making Louise pray that he wouldn't insult her as well, "This line level that you speak off, is this the way that the magic in this world is classified in terms of complexity and tier?" he asked the professor, causing others to look at him with curiosity.

"Why yes, Mister..."

"Sagasso Trentwood."

"Mister Trentwood. The classification of mages' level is dot, line, triangle, and square." the plump professor explained to him.

"That's it?" the cloaked familiar sounds confused, "Are there any other levels in this world's art of magic?" he asked, hoping that there will be one.

"Well there is the rumoured pentagon level that royal families have but..." she cupped her chin and thinks for a few seconds, "I don't think that attaining such level is possible due to the lost magic, Void." she said before looking Sagasso in the eye, "And what do you mean by the words 'in this world'?"

"Erm..." the cloaked figure is now being eyed upon by the others who seems to be curious about what he just said, he then shrugged and said, "Well, our world has at least 12 levels to measure the affinity, ability, and strength of one person in magic." he said.

"Twelve? Founder's grace, why twelve?" one fat blonde with a shrill voice asked Sagasso.

"Well magic is a complex force where anything can happen, depending on the user's preferences and capabilities. Thanks to that, measuring the power and effects of the said magic must be very specific for the sake of easy identification. The twelve levels start from Initiate Tier to the God Tier. And before you tear on the God tier; only a handful of people ever made it to that rank and the only person whom I know that has ever made it to that tier passed away due to certain complications. Right now, the highest possible tier in our homeland is the 9th level, Lord Tier." he explained, making everyone's attention to be directed to him.

"Amazing... So, is this Lord Tier that you speak off equals a Square class mage?" the professor asked with more curiosity.

"Well I haven't seen the power of the mages in this world, Professor." Sagasso admitted, "I'll never know if they can equal the Lord Tier unless I see it with my own eyes and feel their power with my own body."

"You want to get hit with a square level spell? That's dangerous, my masked prince." Kirche looked at him and probably misinterpreted what he said, "Many of the square level spells are considered fatal at its finest, darling. Why would you want to get hit with a powerful spell?"

"For academic purposes, Miss Zerbst, we do dangerous and stupid things for the sake of knowledge and improvement." everyone was appalled when he said that. They have never heard nor seen such a person who was more than willing to bleed for the sake of education, "Well, enough about my home and the principles of magic that it uses. Shouldn't you be reviewing these mages-in-training on the use of Earth elemental spells or something, Professor Chevreuse?"

"Oh my..." the professor looked a bit embarrassed when she was reminded of what she was supposed to do, "I suppose that this could wait later. Anyway..."

The plump professor began to review the class on Earth magic and its fundamentals. Tabitha seems to be stealing glances at Sagasso whenever he isn't looking at her direction. Kirche seems to be trying her best to get his attention by winking at him seductively. Louise seems troubled after what her familiar just said. The rest are watching the teacher in front turn coal into bronze, something that did not impress Sagasso and making inaudible mutters of words like 'too easy', 'that's it?', and 'I can do better'.

_Did I really summon a noble? _she asked herself as the lesson continued, _What should I do if I really did summon a noble? I might cause some sort of an uproar to his family thanks to what I've just done... I don't want that to happen... _she groaned on the scenarios that she is thinking of about her situation.

"Miss Valliere..." Professor Chevreuse called upon Louise's attention, making her snap out of her lull, "Would you kindly demonstrate in front of the class the transmutation spell that I've just shown?"

Louise's classmates were unnerved when Louise was asked to demonstrate a transmutation spell. Everyone started telling the professor on the dangers of 'Louise the Zero' and her spells and attempts to discourage Louise from casting a spell. Sagasso looked at the table with anticipation when Louise was called in front to transmute the coal into something else. Louise ignored the pleas of reconsideration and Chevreuse doesn't seem to have any idea what the pinkette's peers are talking about. When she raised her wand, the students are prepared to hide under their desks or covered their heads with books or hands.

_The Dreamhares said that you have the power and the potential to reach the unreachable 12__th__ level... _Sagasso listens to her, chanting in front while smiling at the other students who are shaking in fear while she chants a spell. _Show me your power, Louise._

"Transmute!" Louise shouted as her wand sparked magical powers, shooting a ball of light on the coal.

Everyone, except Louise, Sagasso, Professor Chevreuse, and Tabitha (surprisingly), clenched their teeth, closed their eyes, and grabbed on tight on whatever things they are holding. They were all expecting a loud boom and school property damages. Then they hear the sound of clapping from the side. The blond fop whom Sagasso threatened to kill looked at his direction and couldn't believe that he isn't covered in soot. Better yet, everything was in one piece. He also saw Tabitha, now standing up from her seat and peering in front of Louise and Professor Chevreuse, who wears a curious and happy expression on her face.

Louise couldn't believe that for the first time, her spells did not blow up anything. The best part of it is that the spell actually turned the coal into a strange, sphere shaped, crystal ore that is never seen before. The ore emitted a warm aura that gave her a comfortable feeling. Its lustre and beauty made many of the students get the urge to come forward and feel the strange stone in their hands. Sagasso came forward to the teacher's desk and examined the ore that Louise made from the coal.

"This is called a memory diamond." Sagasso began to appraise the ore while everyone else listened to him, "It is used to store a precious memory with just a touch, quite useful if you want to relive your favourite past memory." he added as he handed the ore back to Louise, "Judging by the size of this thing, you can store a year's worth of memories in it."

"Oh my, you're quite knowledgeable about this type of ore, Mr. Trentwood." Professor Chevreuse smiled at him, "How do you know about this ore?"

"Well I've read some books about them..." the cloaked familiar said, "I also have some of these in my possession. Though I'm quite curious on how did Miss Louise managed to transmute one of the most complex magical gemstones from my homeland."

"What?" all of the students blurted out when they've heard him say that Louise achieved something that did not involve property damage, everyone looked at Louise curiously.

"I... I did not know what I just did..." Louise looked confused while holding the memory diamond, "I just felt my mind suddenly surged with strange information... I'm not sure what it was..."

"Well this is a wonderful thing that you have just done, Miss Valliere." the plump professor shook her hand, "I must say that you are on your way in becoming a great Earth element mage, Miss Valliere." she praised the pinkette.

-0-0-0-0-

"I've actually managed to cast a spell that did not destroy a classroom..." Louise, who is now walking in the corridor and holding the memory diamond on her hands, blankly said while Sagasso followed her around, "I actually did it..." she added.

"Yes you did. Now please stop repeating what you're saying that. A lady shouldn't talk to herself in public and while she is walking." Sagasso curtly said to her, "And do take care of that diamond, Miss Louise. If someone else touches it, they too will see what memories are stored within it."

"Wait, what?!" Louise remembered what her familiar just did after she touched the ore, "W-w-w-what did you see?!" she asked him immediately.

"I saw the events that transpired yesterday from a classroom of a man named Colbert up to the Vestri Court in your eyes, Louise." he answered the pinkette as honestly as possible, "It seems that 'Louise the Zero' is your nickname due to your inability to cast spells and causing some to blow up on their faces."

"... Well that name will be lost in the future, Sagasso." Louise confidently puffed her chest, "I can now cast a spell that doesn't explode. And I definitely know that I'm an Earth Mage!" she added, "I should write this in my letter to Big Sister Cattleya on the fact that I'm an Earth Mage like her as well!"

"Hmmm, are you sure about the fact that your element is Earth?" the cloaked familiar asked Louise in a sing-song tone.

"What?" was all that Louise could say to her familiar's question.

"Memory diamonds cannot be made by using the Earth element. The only way you could make these magical ores is through the use of-..."

"How could you do this to them, making two wonderful maidens cry, you peasant?" an indignant and flamboyant cry of a familiar person was heard from afar.

"But..." a confused squeaks of another familiar person's voice was also heard from afar.

"When I said it isn't mine, it isn't mine. Got that, whelp?"

"Eeeep! I'm so sorry."

"Sagasso..." Louise saw the cloaked figure went towards the source of the commotion, "Wait! Where are you going?"

"I see that the nobles pick fights on the people that they are supposed to serve, huh?" Sagasso ignored everything else until he made it to the source of the fight.

-0-0-0-0-

Siesta is now backed into a corner by Guiche, who is now sporting two red palm marks on his cheeks. She cowered as the blond approaches her with an angry look on his eyes. Many nobles are quite irrational once they are angered; he is not an exemption. There are other students who are nearby watched the scene unfold, not doing anything and ignoring the maid who had faulted the young blond. The maid's eyes began to well up with tears while the blond fop continuously rant on how stupid she was on not playing along with his schemes.

"For what you have did, I challenge you to a duel, peasant!" Guiche angrily declared in a flamboyant fashion, "You have brought tears upon two lovely maidens, and I shall bring their honor back by-."

"A duel with a defenceless woman, man whore?" a voice that others did not expect to hear brought fear into their chests, "Are noble standards in this land go that low?"

"Mister Sagasso?" Siesta looked at Sagasso, who seems to be spewing out an ominous aura from him, "I suppose that whatever she did, it was not intentional nor her fault, correct?"

Other students backed away when Sagasso went forward to Guiche and Siesta. He first looked at him with contempt and coldness that could turn any lesser beings into stone before looking at Siesta, who now began to cry out of relief. Siesta never felt so relieved in her entire life. Louise came into the scene as well, gasping for air after running for Sagasso, and saw him in between Guiche and Siesta.

"You, Zero." Guiche snapped at Louise, "Tell your familiar to stay out of other's businesses this instant."

"Familiar, stay out of Guiche's businesses." Louise half-heartedly ordered the cloaked being, causing Siesta to flinch and remember the fact that he is still a familiar.

"How about no?" the cloaked man said in a cheery tone, hiding the anger that he is feeling deep inside him.

"Welp, I tried..." the pinkette shrugged, infuriating Guiche even more.

"You really are a Zero... You can't even make your familiar follow orders." Guiche spitefully commented on her half-hearted attempts to order her familiar, "As I have said, I challenge this peasant to a duel of honour."

"And I shall fight for Siesta's stead, man whore." the cloaked familiar coldly declared in front of everyone, "You will not fight a lady who is not even armed nor has the power to fight back. Instead, you will duel with me."

"Fine, I shall meet you at Vestri Court. Fifteen minutes from now." the blond confidently walked away from the scene, "Malicorne, make sure that that commoner will not run off from our duel." he ordered the same fat blond who took the same class with Louise.

"Wait, you want me to keep an eye on him?!" Malicorne looked scared and pointed at Sagasso, who is standing in front of Siesta.

"Oh don't worry man whore. I will come to the location of the duel and crush your pathetic body to the dusts." Sagasso boasted in a sadistic fashion, "You wouldn't have to worry about me running away since I've been looking for someone to vent my frustrations upon after being summoned from my home since last night."

Most of the students couldn't help but shiver at his declaration. The familiar is actually frustrated after Louise summoned him. They couldn't help but imagine what he might be able to do to Guiche as they walked away from the scene while Louise came to Sagasso. She looked furious and crossed her arms at him as Sagasso comforted Siesta and calmed her down.

"Don't kill him, Sagasso." Louise sternly ordered him.

"You don't want me to cleanse this world of his stupidity?" he looked at Louise and sarcastically asked her.

"Don't kill him, Sagasso." Louise repeated her order, "I only want to see that womanizing bastard beaten down to the ground and be humiliated in front of everyone. And I also don't want to have blood in my hands since you are my responsibility."

_This girl... Maybe there is still some hope for her... _Sagasso admired Louise's steel when she ordered him to keep Guiche alive. _Heh, I guess I'll just have to hold back against him._

"Mister Sagasso..." Siesta looked worried after drying her tears, "I'm sorry for being such a bother."

"Don't be sorry about it, Siesta. I for one can't stand nobles who do not know their places nor understand who they are dealing with." he coolly said to her as he walked off, "Standing by while a defenceless woman is being harassed by those who are of great power leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

-0-0-0-0-

**That Zero and her familiar... I can't believe that she actually authorized that commoner to defeat me. He may know some of the things that he said in Professor Chevreuse's class but that's because he is only making them up. There's no way that that thing is a mage. He's but a pathetic commoner, just like that maid who dared to make my sweet Monmon and dear Katie cry. That familiar must have done that to look better in her eyes. Yes... he's after what is underneath that peasant's skirt. He may look fearsome, but I will prove to everyone else that the Zero's familiar is but a hired actor disguised as a fearsome mage.**

"Guiche, I think you should back out from this fight..." **that Malicorne... how dare he doubt my skills. **"You might end up getting killed by that evil familiar that Louise have..."

"I refuse to back down from my duel for the honour of the two ladies." **my pride is at stake here. I will not let that maid nor that familiar trample all over it like so. **"I will show that commoner and that tramp the error of their ways."

"Apologizing to Montmorency and Katie is much easier to do than fighting." **damn it Reynald, you diminutive fool. Can't you just encourage me on this situation? **"I don't think that those staves that he carries around are just for show."

**Why can't they just cheer on me rather than asking me to forfeit a duel for the sake of my two, lovely dames? Can they not understand that this is a matter of pride? Did their mothers drop them when they were younger? I am nobility, a man of high status and power. Magic is our shield and sword. These commoners dare to challenge a noble? Fine, I shall show them the error of their ways. I will not listen to the pleas of those fools who think that that nameless, ragged, filthy, walking stick peddling commoner is stronger than me. I will show them all that the image that they see on him is nothing more but a hysteria caused by his appearance.**

"If you're done fantasizing on how you will lose..." **what the hell? He's already here?! **"Then pull your face up so that I could see it, man whore." **that nickname again... I swear to the Founder** **himself that he and his callous tongue will be disciplined with my Valkyries.**

-0-0-0-0-

"If it isn't the Commoner of Zero, facing someone who is clearly superior compared to himself. I'm quite glad that you have shown up." Guiche held a fake rose on his hand and pointed it on Sagasso.

"As if I'll pass off a chance to show you who your true superiors are, you man whore." Sagasso answered back, "Be glad that I've graced you of my presence in this battlefield, whelp." he boasted as he took off his turban and cloak, leaving only his mask, gray shirt, and black pants.

Others were awed when they saw that what was underneath all of the restrictive garments was a masked human whose body is more fit than any of them. His long, golden hair, tied at the back of his head, is one of his standing features next to the mask that still remained on his face. The thoughts of Louise's familiar being a commoner surfaced once more in the minds of the spectators. Sagasso held his hand on the air, garnering the curiosity of others.

"Vitanovae." the same masterly crafted sword that is made of white steel appeared out of nowhere and into his hands. He then held his free hand on the spot where he put his cloak and turban, "Yggdrasil's Twig." one of his staves, a crooked headed staff made of white wood and has the sweetest fragrance, flew out from the pile and unto his free hand. Everyone is now dispelled of the thoughts of him being a commoner.

"W-w-w-w-wait... You're a mage?" Guiche faltered a bit when his opponent managed to summon his weapons from nowhere.

"Oh, why would that matter in a battlefield, man whore?" Sagasso planted his sword on the ground, "The only thing that matters here is life and death. No one is an exemption, noble or commoner." he said in a dark tone, "Now, en garde." his body shifted its stance, to the surprise of the others since they were expecting a fight where two mages will only stand still while they cast spells at each other.

"So, you wish to slug me with that walking stick of yours?" the blonde's confidence went back to him and snickered at Sagasso, who is now poised to attack him, "Very well, I am Guiche de Gramont, and my Runic name is 'The Bronze'." he waved his rose and an construct of an armoured golem as tall as Guiche and shaped like a woman bared its sword at him, "By the way, this Valkyrie will be enough to defeat you."

"I see... So you dare to sullen the manly traditions of a one on one duel by summoning a construct rather than fighting for yourself, huh?" Sagasso raised his staff, "Rise, Aegis."

An iron fist shot up from the ground, to everyone's surprise. Another fist came out as well and held on to the ground and pulled a body out of it. Everyone thought that Sagasso summoned a fearsome construct, but when they looked closer at the construct and found themselves giggling at it. The armoured golem is a size of a child. It wears a black knight's armour that is meant for children. It also has a short halberd and a round shield in hand. It then pointed its spear towards the construct and shielded its chest in a threatening fashion (though many of the female spectators who saw Sagasso's construct found it cute).

"I will not be disturbed by your constructs while I feed you with dirt, man whore." he coldly announced to him, "Aegis, take care of that scrap iron." he ordered his iron golem before he made a run for it to reach for Guiche.

"Attack that commoner my Valkyrie!" Guiche panicked and ordered the Valkyrie to charge. When the distance between the masked familiar and Guiche's Valkyrie is close, Guiche thought that Sagasso is as good as dead... until he saw his Valkyrie getting impaled by a short halberd, "I... Impossible!" he waved his wand to summon five more Valkyrie, "Attack! Don't let him touch me!" he ordered to his Valkyrie.

Louise, who is also watching the duel, saw Sagasso's childlike iron golem throw Guiche's Valkyrie to an another Valkyrie using its spear and slammed its shield on a Valkyrie that was about to crash its blade on its head. It was unbelievable when Sagasso's iron golem called Aegis is holding its ground against the Valkyrie without any problem. The masked familiar dodges all of the constructs that blond continuously summon to get to him while his construct destroys the ones that dare to come close to its builder. When the Valkyries managed to surround the two, Guiche laughed at the fact that he already won the duel.

"Aegis, show them your power." Sagasso ordered his construct.

Aegis nodded at Sagasso's order and cocked its head back. Everyone wondered what it might do, thinking that the construct might try to charge against all of them. That's what they taught until Aegis let loose a breath of wind from its visor and caused half of the Valkyries that surrounds it to turn into dust and fade away as the wind continuously blows from its visor. Sagasso, cuts two Valkyries down with the use of his sword and skewered the Valkyrie that was about to attack him with his staff.

"Impossible... That construct of Zero's familiar can use wind magic as well?!" Malicorne looked amazed while it watches the Aegis tear down its opponents with its breath.

"That's impossible, I've never seen a construct that has two elements as well." the blonde fop shakes from where he stands while summoning ten Valkyries to act as his bodyguard and a sword to defend himself with, "What in Founder's balls did you do?"

"I'll give you an exposition of what I just did if you survive this fight, man whore!" Sagasso, now unhindered by the Valkyries, advanced towards Guiche with his Aegis running next to him.

"Stay back!" Guiche desperately waved his rose and shot earthen projectiles at him.

Sagasso effortlessly dodged most of the projectiles that were shot towards him while Aegis deflects the shots that were directed at him. Unfortunately, one of the projectiles that Guiche managed to distract Sagasso enough to get him too close for comfort to one of the Valkyrie's sword. Without hesitation, the Valkyrie slashed his face vertically, causing half of his mask that covers his mouth to be exposed. Sagasso was forced to jump back and paused for a bit. Everyone now knows that the familiar is a human thanks to his half exposed face. To the girls, the masked familiar looked dashing now that half of his mask is gone and exposed a part of his face.

"My mask..." was all that Sagasso said as he looked at the half of his mask that is now on the ground while the Aegis attacks the bodyguards of Guiche, "You destroyed my mask..."

"What?" the blonde fop is now getting more and more confident when Sagasso paused, a sign that he sees as fear for its own life, "You're just stopping just because your stage paraphernalia is gone?"

"No... You've destroyed the mask that my son made for me when he was still a child..." his hands that held both his staff and sword shook with anger, "Pray to your god, Guiche..."

In a blur, Sagasso is now in front of Guiche with a mad glint in his eyes and sports a sadistic grin at his face. Before he could even act nor say anything, his gut felt the knee of Sagasso and was followed up by the hilt of his Vitanovae to his head. The blonde's world is now filled with stars and backed away in a dazed manner, dropping both of his wand and sword. Sagasso dropped both of his weapons as well and began to dismantle Guiche with his hands by letting loose a flurry of fists at his face and torso. Guiche tried to defend himself with his arms but it was useless when Sagasso grabbed one of his arms and threw him on the ground, back first. The sight of the blonde's destruction at the hands of Sagasso looked brutal and merciless at the eyes of spectators. They saw him being forced up to his feet, only to be kicked down and stomped to the ground by the familiar.

"So, this is a noble's power huh?" Sagasso spat at Guiche's face, "I'm not feeling any of it, Guiche de Gramont. Aren't you supposed to destroy me of your power?" he asked him while he kicked his sides, "Am I wrong about expecting more from a weakling like you."

"I... yield." Guiche weakly said to him as blood dripped from his head, only to be forced to stand on his feet by Sagasso, "Please... no more..." he begged out of fear, knowing that his life is now in jeopardy since all of his Valkyrie are destroyed by the Aegis, he now only hopes that Sagasso will grant him mercy.

"I wonder if I should accept your request to surrender, Guiche de Gramont." he held him by the collar of his bloody shirt and raised him from the ground, "Why should I accept the surrender of a pathetic fop like you who dared to skip his responsibilities and duel those who are weak and defenceless?" he said as the blade that he dropped flew into his free hand while he held Guiche on the air, "If I let you live, you might do it once more and cause more misery to any woman that loves you thanks to your womanizing ways. This world is better off without you, Guiche de Gramont." he aimed his sword towards his diaphragm, "Make peace with yourself and hope that in your next life, you won't turn out to be a terrible person."

The rest were horrified on the fact that Louise's familiar is not merciful and is about to execute Guiche in front of them. The curly haired blond and the brown haired girl that he last spoke off has tears welling up on their eyes as they were about to see their love interest get killed in front of them. Louise, who is rather calm and collected, went into the duel circle and towards Sagasso. The rest are curious about what she will do since the familiar wouldn't even listen to her.

"Familiar, don't kill him." Louise, standing straight behind Sagasso and crossing her arms, ordered her familiar in a stern manner.

"As you wish Miss Louise..." to everyone's surprise, Sagasso complied on her order to spare Guiche.

"Louise?" Guiche blinked when Louise's order to spare his life was obeyed by the familiar.

"Consider this as your second life, Gramont." the masked familiar walked towards the two girls that he talked to and set him down there, "Because the next time you do this again. I will not be so merciful towards your foolishness and slay you from where you stand. Nobles are meant to be the servants of the commoners. The moment that you take up the mantle of a noble is the moment that you dedicate your life in the service of those that you lord over. Nobles who betray the trust that was given to them are lower than the lowest of all traitors. Nobles who skip their responsibilities and blame it unto others are not worthy to lead even a blind man at all. Noble who use their powers against those whom they are sworn to protect and to serve deserve to suffer a hellish death at the hands of their own subjects." he lectured Guiche before he turned away, "If you emulate all those three things that undo a noble, then I have the right to remove you from this world permanently. You only lived thanks to Miss Louise's order and your luck. Be thankful to her once you've recovered." he then walked away with Louise at the tow.

-0-0-0-0-

"That was quite a show that Miss Valliere put up... Don't you think so, Colbert?" an elderly man in a black robe stroked his long, gray beard as he looked at a crystal ball with a balding man from yesterday's familiar summoning ritual, "His construct is something that even many of the Triangle Class Earth Mages could only dream to create."

"He nearly executed Mister Gramont, Headmaster Osmond. I was more than ready to ring the bell of slumber if in case that that young man decided to run his strange sword of his through Guiche." the man named Colbert sighed out of relief, "Thank the Founder that Miss Valliere ordered him to spare the young man."

"It would have been hard to explain to General Gramont that his third son was killed by an unknown noble that was summoned by Louise..." Osmond rested his hand on his long beard, "That young man speaks like as if he was a noble himself." he added, "I can't help but to agree on what he said a while ago... Nobles should be an example that others must follow. And that young man spoke like the nobility from the old days: Honourable, trustworthy, and loyal to both the crown and the people."

"I've heard from Madam Chevreuse that he spoke of something about his homeland's magical system and the strange stone that Louise managed to summon." the balding professor crossed his arms and checked on the orb where Sagasso is picking up his belongings while the rest of the student body are either being indignant that the topic that the two spoke off won against a general's son or how brutal Louise's familiar was towards the Guiche despite the fact that he yielded, "I believe that we should observe him as well."

"Indeed. He's an interesting subject. Not only that he is the Gandalfr, he is also a mage to boot. We will also keep this as a secret to the castle as well. Who knows what might happen if Miss Valliere and her familiar are used in their politics." Osmond stood up from his seat and peered from his window, "Speaking of which, I've received a letter today... It was from the Destroyer of Artefacts..."

Colbert's brows furrowed when he heard the title. The Destroyer of Artefacts managed to steal and turn every magical items, relics, and artefacts into dust. He made many safety precautions to hide the Dragon's Raiment that now resides in Tarbes five days ago and strengthened the vault tower. The said person was a proficient Earth Magic user and is quite powerful as well. The motive behind its actions is to see all items that are valuable to be shattered into million pieces. He is also said to appear three months ago, after the death of the infamous thief, Foquet of the Crumbling Earth in the hands of the Albion Reconquistas when she tried to steal an artefact from the vaults of the royal family of Albion. The letter from this person who has no respect to anything that might improve the lives of others is never good at all.

"What does he want from us, Osmond?" Colbert asked.

"The Staff of Destruction." the old headmaster answered while rubbing his head, "He'll destroy it, two weeks from now..."

* * *

Welp, time to give you the 12 levels that Sagasso was talking about:

1st - Initiate

2nd - Novice

3rd - Amateur

4th - Journeyman

5th - Practitioner

6th - Veteran

7th - Elite

8th - Master

9th - Lord

10th - Hero

11th - Legend

12th - God

The reason why Sagasso made a lot of slips of tongue in this chapter was because he is frustrated and careless on the fact that he isn't in his world anymore and the only place where he feels like he is at home is at his END Room. Though I'm already straying away from the true path of canon, I'd like add more things to it since as The Lord of the Magi said, my OC might treading on Gary Stu grounds. Expect many changes in my story, that's one thing that I could tell you for now. Louise's first success after so many explosions that she managed to conjure will be explained in the next chapter.

?: Hey!

A.G.: Hello Saito.

Saito: Don't 'hello' me, you canon defiling bastard. That should have been me back there and not that...

?: Oh I'm dying to hear what insults you might throw at me, you masochistic imbecile.

A.G.: Sagasso... Please don't be too hard on-.

Sagasso: Why can't you just grow a pair for once and tell Miss Louise off? I would have thrown her clothes from the window and tell her that she can go naked for all I care. And you what? Licked her shoes like a pathetic, neutered dog that you are and allowed yourself to be demeaned by her.

A.G.: That's enough now, Sagasso...

Sagasso: You also have that hormonal problems that gives you more flak. I mean, why the fuck would you kiss the princess on the lips instead of kissing her on the hands? Shouldn't you have asked your handler on where would she want to be kissed rather acting like a twat and snog the Tristain's ruling noble?

A.G.: Sagasso, stop. Please. Saito already gets it. He's using the corner of woe for love of God. I know that he's a flawed character but still...

Anyway, see you next time!


	3. Chapter 3: Someone Else's Eyes

Welp, I'm back from my vacation and finished the third chapter of my fic.

About this chapter, this was a pain in the ass to write and I've been thinking about making it longer until I've decided not to do so since it will take up my remaining time left in preparing for the upcoming exams after my vacation. But hey, at least I've updated this rather than abandoning it.

Anyway, why am I holding you guys up in your reading?

Disclaimer: If I own Familiar of Zero, then it will have less titties and random shit and I would have written it without thinking about how much fan service I'll be giving and concentrate on writing likeable characters and plot.

* * *

"So, Jean..." Osmond looked at the balding professor, "This Sagasso Trentwood, is he a member of any noble family that is currently present in Halkeginia?" he asked while taking out a smoking pipe and loaded it with tobacco, "Is there any family that bears this strange emblem?" he checked the strange sketch of an eagle that carries a sabre and a book on its talons that Colbert managed to create.

"I've never seen it, Headmaster Osmond..." Colbert sighed and answered him, "I'd like to ask him if he's a noble of some sort and whose family does he belong to." he said while rubbing his head, "I shouldn't have let him become Miss Valliere's familiar immediately and have him restrained for questioning." his face is filled with guilt, "But I don't know what she might do if her familiar was taken away from her after using the familiar summoning spell for many times. She kept on trying for four and a half hours, not listening to her classmate's discouraging comments until she summoned the strange, young man who might be a noble."

The headmaster stroked his beard as he blew smoke rings and thinks of what Louise managed to summon. The pink haired mage managed to summon a powerful familiar after four and a half hours of failure. It's quite strange as well when Louise's straight records of failed spells and destroyed properties are broken in Professor Chevreuse's class when she transmuted a coal into a magical gemstone that can store memories.

"I've also scanned the Gandalfr's magical power yesterday..." Osmond perked up and looked at Colbert, "The results are interesting..."

"Oh?"

"The spell told me that his power is way above us... No, beyond our level and grasp..." Colbert cupped his chin; "If he ended up with Lifdrasir or Miodaitnir, his powers might have boosted up to the point that a simple spells that he could cast might devastate 1/6 of Tristania without any trouble." the headmaster nearly dropped his pipe when he heard his colleague's revelation, "But then he acquired Gandalfr instead..."

"I suppose that acquiring the runes of Gandalfr is good, correct?" Osmond is relieved when he saw Colbert nod in confirmation.

"The runes seem to be suppressing something within him. It didn't affect his personality at all but it instead went for his magical properties. I don't know what they are but as long as the runes of Gandalfr stay, he's not a danger to anyone... I think." Colbert looked unsure when he said that the recently summoned familiar was not a danger.

"You think?" Osmond raised his brow at the bald professor, "Are there other problems that the rune might give us in the near future?"

"Well, the runes that prevent him from using his powerful magic could temporarily break if he's in a severe emotional concentration." the balding professor took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "In other words, he has to be too angry for his own good to let loose his most powerful spells."

Osmond leaned back from his seat and took a deep breath. Knowing that they are housing a being who is capable of destroying towns if enraged or blissful, Osmond took a mental note to never let the palace have him. Not only that, he'll also have to protect Louise if in case that they decided to use her to force him to work for them. Today was quite hectic for the two instructors; they begin to wonder if this could get any worse.

-0-0-0-0-

"Sagasso... May I ask you something?" Louise looked at her familiar, who is now putting back his cloak and turban in place. Many students have dispersed and few remained to gaze upon the childlike iron golem that still stood by near the broken Valkyries, "Is that mask of yours truly a gift from your son?"

"Well, eldest son to be precise. He gave it to me 70 years ago as a birthday present. The fact that that man whore's construct ruined my son's gift got me wishing that I could to slam his face on his precious Valkyries and stick his sword up on a place where the sun never shines." Sagasso crudely answered her question as he picked up the half of his mask that is lying at the feet of Aegis.

"70 years ago? How old are you?" curiosity overtook Louise and made her ask it until she realized something. "Are you lying?" she looked at him in a suspicious manner.

"I'm not. I may look young, but I've lived for a hundred and ten years." honesty was all that Louise could hear from his voice.

"No... That's impossible... Why don't you look so... old?" she asked once more, poking some part of his face, "How could you look so young despite having those ridiculous years of living?"

"The reason why I still have this face without looking like a wrinkled prune is because of the advancement of my world's medical sciences. Many discoveries were made and thanks to that, humans are doing great in our world. An average human from my world can live for two and a half centuries by the way." he explained in a low voice about his world and the wonders of it, "Though there's a possibility that a human could live for a millennia."

"You can live for that long?!" Louise's eyes widened and nearly shouted out had her familiar not cover her mouth, "Mmmmph?"

"How about we continue this discussion somewhere else where no one might eavesdrop on us?" Sagasso looked around and saw a few students, staring at them as of now, "I suggest that we go into an empty classroom or a secluded area outside the academy, all right?"

-0-0-0-0-

Few minutes later, the pinkette and her familiar is now inside an unused classroom that holds many items with heavy damages on them. Chairs, tables, jars, desks, specimen display jars, and many more are bearing marks that make Louise look away from them. Sagasso clicked his tongue and tut on the room that they have hastily picked as their meeting area.

"You know, repairing these materials would have been a lot easier and cheaper than replacing them all the time..." Sagasso examined a chair with a huge hole on its backrest, "These things look expensive... Who could have done such damage to these beautiful things?" he added as his fingers traced one chair that is masterly crafted.

"It was an accident..." Louise growled as her fists curled.

"Eh?"

"I could have done it so well if they weren't breaking my concentration..." her teeth gritted as she looked at the ground, "Stupid Germanian broad. Stupid blonde fop and his curly haired harpy..." the urge to chuckle at Louise's display of contempt on her peers was strong within Sagasso.

"I'm here to explain about something important about myself with you in private. Not listen to you, cursing your peers who insulted you." the pinkette's attention is immediately caught by her familiar, "Now, take a seat on any place that you want to sit to and let us begin our question and answer." he added before sitting on top of a teacher's desk that is not ridden with holes.

"Sagasso, before you were summoned by me..." Louise fidgeted uncomfortably from the chair that she found which is still fully repaired, "What were you doing back then?"

"Well... I was planning to have a reunion with my family after 10 years." he answered in an honest tone, causing Louise to get more uncomfortable and feel guilty, "Did you even wonder why I was insulting almost everything that I saw and nearly killed man whore in the process?"

"You said that you were frustrated..." knots began to form deep within Louise, "I thought that you were some random bystander with nothing to do who was summoned by me but..."

"But you summoned a family man who was supposed to be back at his home, relaxing with his children and grandchildren. Thanks for doing that, by the way. I'm really happy about the fact that I am here." Sagasso said in a sarcastic and embittered tone, "You must be really proud about the fact that you summoned someone who will be your eternal servant and marked him as a sign of ownership." he took off one of his gloves and showed her the runes that were etched on his right hand, "I'd never thought that this world's mages needed familiars as well to do their bidding and hold their hands while they tremble in the great canyons of the world of magic. I mean, I've accomplished a lot without summoning a familiar myself, like most of the accomplished mages from my world done same as well without a familiar."

"What? How could your world's mages even do without a familiar?!" she asked while wearing a shocked expression on her face.

"Mages in my world are doing great without a familiar. I mean, why would we get a fettered and underpowered creature when we could simply make a deal with them and form an alliance or a partnership without carving some sort of a weakening rune on their flesh?" Louise looked confused when her familiar claimed that familiar binding weakens the targetted familiar.

"Wait, are you saying that our ritual might create a weakened familiar?" Sagasso nodded at the pinkette's query, "But you were so strong back then! You even destroyed that fop's Valkyrie with your staff!"

"Well I don't know of the familiar binding ritual's processes and its details but there is a chance that I'm not as strong as you think I am. Who knows what these blasted runes are doing to my body and mind right now just to make me bow my head to your will." he angrily looked at his runed hand.

"Ooof!" Siesta's voice is heard outside, followed by the sound of stumbling and tripping.

"Shhh... Quiet down, maid..." Kirche's voice hushed Siesta, "They might hear us."

_Sorry. But anyone who is not brain dead could still hear you from here._

Sagasso stood up from where he is and calmly made his way towards the door. The two voices did not hear the sound of silence as they continue on their small tirade. Louise also followed suit to see what her familiar might do to them once he opens the door and catch the eavesdropper. When Sagasso opened the door, the red headed Germanian could have hit the floor face first had Sagasso not acted quickly and caught her with his arms. Behind Kirche, Tabitha is still reading a book, showing little care to whatever is happening around her and Siesta, who looks at him with a frown on her face. The cloaked familiar sighed in resignation while Louise became indignant to the maid, the blunette, and her rival's eavesdropping.

"What in Founder's name are you three doing?! How dare you listen to our important conversation?!" she barked at them.

"Well..." Kirche, who is still in Sagasso's arms, put a finger on her lips in a seductive fashion, "I was going to invite my masked prince to come along with me into my room and have a little victory celebration after defeating the foolish Gramont." she said in a cheery tone, "But then, you decided to take your familiar in your storage room of failures and seduce him~." she mischievously added, making Louise turn red like the Germanian's hair.

"Then we heard the part about Mister Trentwood being a family man..." Siesta looked sad when she gazed on Sagasso, "He was torn apart from his family that he was supposed to meet after ten years..." her voice is heavy with sadness and anger, "Now he is being forced to serve a noble... despite the fact that he's also a noble-."

"Crap... Stop! Don't tell them!" Sagasso's call for her to stop speaking came too late. He really didn't want them to know that he is a noble unless Louise grows an even bigger ego. Louise and Kirche looked shock at the fact that the familiar is a nobleman.

"Oh no... Oh no! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I should have just kept my mouth shut! I shouldn't have said those words!" the maid continuously bowed and apologized.

"Well too late about that. Miss Louise, Miss Zerbst, and Miss Tabitha now know my civilian rank." he sighed as he prompts Kirche to stand on her own.

"I knew it! You really are a noble from the start, my masked prince!" Kirche wrapped her arms on his waist, to Sagasso's chagrin.

"Oh Founder, what have I done... I summoned a noble and turned him into my familiar..." Louise is now showing her regrets about the day that she summoned him, "Sagasso, please tell me where your family estate is. I'll immediately arrange a transport and escort for your safe return. I'll also accept whatever reprisals that they will lash out." the cloaked familiar didn't know what he could express as of now at Louise's show of stupidity. She still does not believe that he is from another dimension.

"Miss Louise, I'm not a dweller of this backwater dimension. And if my home country, Mana Kingdoma, exists in this world..." the mention of Sagasso's home country confused the girls who are listening to him, "Then I would have sent some form of a message to them, requesting for a transport to come and pick me up."

"Mana Kingdoma, what is that? Is it a kingdom far away from here?" Siesta innocently asked.

"Mana Kingdoma is a kingdom of mages and magic users. Many mage aspirants go there to study and become a great mage." the fact that there is a country where only mages live shocked everyone inside the room, "Then again; magic is a part of our basic education system in Agarrassia. And education is mandatory from where I come from. Everyone is required to attend, be it noble or commoner."

"Teaching magic to commoners? But that's heretical!" Louise indignantly blurted out, "Your people are going against the laws that the Founder wrote in stone a long time ago!" at this point, Sagasso never thought that he'll also find hatred in the world where he is standing, "And I thought that Germanians are barbaric upstarts."

"Louise Francoise de Blanc de la Valliere..." the cloaked familiar's barely hidden hatred can be felt by people around him, "This world of yours... is more barbaric than anything else that I've ever came across with. Magic is not something that only a handful of idiotic, pea brained, close-minded, pot eared, snobbish, and know-nothing hillbillies like you could simply manipulate just because some pathetic flesh-and-bones of a fool decided that it is only for you to use." never had the pinkette felt weak-kneed in all her life. Kirche, Tabitha, and Siesta never knew how true hatred felt like until the day Sagasso told his master off, "So you better shut your damned mouth about my home country, my people, or my home world unless you want to die getting stabbed with a blunt and rusted fork." his mouth then switched from an angry snarl to smile, a very sweet smile, "Got it?"

In response, everyone nodded in unison. Insulting the country of a patriotic noble is the best way to get the hateful side of a person out without any trouble. They definitely know that Sagasso love and proud of his home and he's more than ready to kill someone who dares to insult it.

"Mister Trentwood..." Siesta spoke once more, breaking the silence, "What did you mean by civilian rank?" she asked meekly, not wanting Sagasso's hate to be diverted to her.

"Civilian rank is a title that is given to those who are not involved in politics, military, or internal affairs. Just like magic, civilian rank is indiscriminate." Sagasso explained in a lighter mood, "If I'm back at my home, I'd be a civilian rank citizen of Mana Kingdoma."

"So, you consider yourself as a part of the commoner's rank?" Tabitha broke her silence. Louise looked aghast when Tabitha asked the question, "Curious indeed... A noble who considers himself as a commoner..."

"Indeed... This is the first time seen a noble who doesn't mark himself as a nobleman." the Germanian covered her mouth while blushing, "To think that a fairytale noble like you could still exist."

"Fairytale noble?" Sagasso looked baffled and amused when Kirche called him that, "Am I to be compared to a Prince Charming or a Handsome Knight with the most pleasing personalities?" he chuckled for a while, "Did you not saw what I did to that man-whore, Miss Zerbst? I'm not a fairytale noble at all if I'm the type who kills people who already surrendered." he said with an amused grin.

"Well you're willing to protect all of the women from people like him, Masked Prince." Kirche objected flirtatiously, "I'm not the type who likes traitorous men like him who flirts with as many women as possible and deceive them into thinking that he is faithful to each and every one of them."

"You stood up for me when he tried to take his frustrations out on me. No noble here has ever done that for a commoner without asking for something in return." Siesta's cheeks turned a bit pink, "It's like as if you were a prince who came out from nowhere just to protect a lowly maiden from an evil count and..." the maid continues to blabber about her fantasies.

_You two are too complacent for your own good... _Sagasso blinked and sighed at them.

"Look, you can't just simply trust a man who is clearly not from this world and can use powers that you all deem as otherworldly. Let alone a man like myself who can kill without even hesitating." the cloaked familiar crossed his arms, "I might be dangerous and a monster in a guise of a man. Calling me with such flowery title like fairytale noble is... weird." he sighed before looking at Louise, who is still shocked at being the receiving end of his displeasure, "What's wrong, Miss Louise? Cat got your tongue?"

"No! Cats can never get a tongue of a noble! They're nothing but animals!" the pinkette jolted back and became very attentive. Her sudden response caused Sagasso to laugh at her, "What's the matter?" she asked in a confused manner.

"I am quite amused when you took one of the oldest sayings from my world too seriously." he said while holding his sides, "I suppose that you also have skeletons in your closet as well, right?"

"Wha-wha-wha-wha-what?!" everyone looked shocked when Louise's familiar said that, "I do not have such things inside my wardrobe! There's no such thing!" she said in a flustered manner as Sagasso continues to laugh.

"I suppose..." he then composed himself, "Quite a shame that you don't understand the sayings from my world. They're really fun to use. Especially if people takes them too seriously." he smirked at them.

"You..." the pinkette fumed at the embarrassment that she went through.

"Yes, me..." Sagasso answered back, "Hmmm... It seems that I'll be having tea time with the Dreamhares." he took his arms out, uncovered a part of his wrist that is covered by his sleeve, and looked at his watch, "I would invite Miss Louise in tea time but they still hate you for the insult that you carelessly slipped off from your mouth. So, would you like to join me in a tea party, Miss Siesta?" he looked at Siesta, who is both surprised and happy.

"Wait! Why did you invite a commoner rather than a noble?" Louise, mustering her pride as a noble, spoke indignantly, "And I assume that she still has work to do for the rest of the day!"

"Well... I'm free for the afternoon." the maid corrected her, much to the pinkette's disappointment, "I was planning to take a rest until I saw Miss Zerbst and Miss Tabitha following you two."

Kirche and Tabitha looked at each other, then to Sagasso. Just like every other noble, he should have either invited his master or maybe them rather than the maid. They never thought that there was a noble who is not above mingling with a commoner. Louise is now dumbstruck when Sagasso took Siesta's hand and led her out of the room. The pinkette wanted to scream out of rage until she saw something dropped from her familiar's cloak. It was the same crystal that she managed to create in Professor Chevreuse's class, a memory diamond. But the diamond looked different, for its taking a strange pink hue.

"Isn't that the same gemstone that you transmuted a while ago?" the Germanian looked at the gemstone that was on the ground, "Hmmm... Why does it look so different?" she picked up the gemstone from the ground.

Kirche's eyes suddenly widened when her hands touched the surface of the gem. Her body quivered while holding the memory gem. Louise and Tabitha looked at her suspiciously, thinking that she might have lost it.

"Cute..." the redhead muttered.

"What?" Tabitha's best reaction was a rather blank reaction.

"Those two look so cute..." she said it out loud, alarming the two for her sudden mental breakdown.

-0-0-0-0-

**I've never seen two cute boys in my life! One of them bears the skin tone of my countrymen, though he has the same raven coloured hair like the maid, he's wearing a light armour above his simple tunic that covers his lithe upper chest and shoulder with a large sword strapped on his back. There's also a boy who has this same semblance as my masked prince, though more on the cute side rather than the beautiful side. He's wearing round glasses, a striped scarf, and a weathered robe. On their side are two large backpacks and a rucksack. These two must be preparing camp here.**

"Sagasso, you know that we could just spend our night in a nearby city, right?" **oh my... Did that raven haired boy called that robed cutie Sagasso? **"Not that I'm complaining on your frugality. But shouldn't we at least treat ourselves with something nice like a soft bed or something?"

"But the outdoor's much better than the indoors, Grey!" **Strange, when did my voice become less seductive? **"Stop worrying too much about the outdoors being a dangerous place to sleep out. At least we could see the stars above us and breathe the freshest air that the nature provides to us!" **Hmmmm... I'd rather agree with the cute swordsman's reasoning.**

"Sorry but we're penny pinching, Grey. Just because we have money doesn't mean that we could spend it all the time." **I definitely know that my masked prince is a frugal prince, **"Besides, the city nearby is an Olympic sponsor."

"Crap... why didn't you say so?" **I'm guessing that this Olympic sponsor is a bad news. **"I forgot about that. I really hate it when I'm forced to answer questions and show some documents to prove my identity as a traveller passing by; doubled if the one asking me is an equivalent of a Church Inquisitor."

**Huh? Did I just hear a loud roar? Looks like Sagasso dear and his friend, Grey are taking out their weapons. Wait, my fists are bandaged... Why am I preparing to fight? Why do I feel the draft getting stronger every second?**

"MEAT..." **I want to scream... I really want to scream right now. **

**I have never seen such an abomination like that in my entire life! It looks like it was cut down and sewn so many times! It's also huge! Not only does it have oversized arms and undersized legs, it also has extra limbs sticking out from the back and its abdomen. Its face... I can't describe it... Its teeth are jutting out from its loose mouth. The nose of this thing is nothing more but two slits on its pudgy face. And its eyes... they were nearly popping out. It also holds an oversized cleaver that is still coated with fresh blood and gore on its right, and a severed leg with high heels worn on its foot on its left. No... is this thing a cannibal?**

"FRESH MEAT..." **this thing's terrible voice should have brought fear to anyone... Even I would feel nothing but terror when I'm in front of this monster.**

"So... shall we kill this thing first before setting up camp?" **but the raven haired Germanian doesn't have any sign of fear on its face. Why is he smiling? Shouldn't they be running away from it?!**

"That thing looks dangerous..." **please dispel them of their notion that they could kill that thing. Please dispel them of such-, **"Which makes it more fun to take down as well!" **no... No... Nononononononono! Why isn't she afraid as well?! **"... I blame the both of you for influencing me to become a battle-seeking girl..." **... if this situation was not like this, I'd be laughing at this right now.**

**Then all of the sudden, it ran towards us. Brandishing its cleaver and throwing the leg aside. It sprayed a foul smelling drool on us as it screams and tries to touch us. I managed to step away from its attacking path along with Sagasso with grace while the raven haired swordsman got himself locked in the grasps of the left hand of that thing. That thing threw him hard on the ground and raised his cleaver, ready to cut him down. I don't want to see this but my eyes refuses to close and forces me to watch it. But to my surprise:**

"Mage Missiles: Fire Element!"** the raven swordsman raised its free arm and shot five fire balls without a wand at its head and neck. Impossible, is he a mage?! It felt the damage that Grey inflicted and backed away from its supposed-to-be victim. **"Mage Missiles: Fire Element!" **he fired five more volleys of fire balls on its face to distance him from that abomination.**

"GWOOOOOH... PAIN... HURTS..." **the thing covered its hand while the raven swordsman continues to fire magical projectiles until it's far away from him. **

**When there is enough distance between them, my masked prince and I joined in and fired magical projectiles that are made of wind and earth. It was not a surprise to me that my Sagasso is an Earth mage, though what makes me wonder is that I'm not firing any fire element spells like the raven swordsman. I'm only firing wind element magical missiles as of now, which is not my element. But the effects are showing now, for the beast's free arm is now rendered unusable and its body bears the injuries that were inflicted by me, my masked prince, and the raven swordsman.**

**The beast, now bearing some harsh burn wounds suddenly roared at us with great intensity. For some reason, we suddenly stopped firing magical missiles. When I looked at Sagasso, I've never seen him look so pale. Grey drew out his blade, which a cross of a falchion and a claymore, from his back and got ready to attack.**

"Feena, protect Sagasso while I dance with Mr. Huge, Smelly, Ugly here." **his grip on his blade got tighter and his sights are directed towards the thing. **"Damn it... I never thought that this guy can use that technique. Whoever made this thing actually covered its base when fighting a mage. To think that it can actually use a sealing screech..."

"MEAT!" **it charged once more, brandishing its cleaver and looked at us with a hungry expression. Grey charged as well, with his sword in hand and courage in his eyes. Is he planning to fight that thing without his magic? **

**Apparently, my masked prince's companion is strong... very strong. He's holding down a ten foot, pudgy abomination with a sword, ignoring its terrible presence. I backed away, along with Sagasso, to a safer location to recover from the so-called sealing screech of that monster. By the time we made it to a safe position, the raven swordsman was thrown back by getting hit by its cleaver's blunt side. Ewww... I think that Grey will be having a long bath after this... there's blood all over his clothes and face.**

**My masked prince drew his sword out from his side, readying himself to attack in case the monster sets its eyes on him. But then the monster looked at me with its popped out eyes and burnt and bloated face. It began to salivate, which is completely disturbing. It wanted to eat me... It wanted to taste my body... and it's not in a sexual sense. I might be frozen by such thought, but that's just me. The body of this war freak of a woman wanted to get into a quarrel with that thing. I can see and hear her knuckles crack. This wind user wanted to fight it...**

**With her bare hands nonetheless.**

"Feena, don't come any closer to that thing. That thing's more to it than just screaming and cleaving." **my masked prince warns her while the thing readies itself to make a dash towards us. **

**I don't like this at all, that thing's sizing the both of us... it wants us to make a mistake before it cuts us down and cannibalizes our bodies. It may not be as smart as a human, but it has enough intelligence to be able to play mind games at us.**

"HUNGRY!" **the thing's terrifying voice shouted its battle cry before running towards me. Brimir's balls... I'm not ready for this kind of a fight.**

"Let's do this!" **damn it! Listen to my masked prince, you fool! Don't just charge into the field! Don't... oh Brimir's balls... I'm getting closer and closer to that thing!**

"MEAT!" **that thing is going to chop me in half, and it's this entirely the girl's fault. This is...**

"Hup, missed me, sucker!" **that insane bitch, she just dodged its fatal attack by sidestepping and attacked its legs with her own legs, causing that thing to tumble down. She quickly backed away when the thing was about to crash down on her... is this girl using some sort of an enhancement spell to make her body stronger and faster?**

"Zerbst... Let go..." **A voice... But whose voice is it? It sounds so distorted and garbled. Where are you? Are you watching this as well?**

"MEAT!" **the beast screeched while it planted its hand on the ground and pushed its body up, **"HUNGRY! MEAT! NOW!" **this thing wants to eat us no matter what. Oh Brimir... what manner of creature is this and why did you allow it to walk along with us?**

**We have to move... We have to move! That thing is about to throttle us! No... No... This isn't happening... Why are you shaking in fear?! You attacked that thing without any hesitation... and now you're trembling like a little girl?! The distance between us and that thing is getting closer and closer! Work legs! Take us out of here, damn you... Being eaten by an abomination isn't part of my lists of dying... I'd rather die on the hands of my beloved masked prince than be slaughtered and consumed by a monster! No... Stop closing your eyes! We have to move! Please don't do this!**

"Feena!" **then my world felt like I was being pulled down to the ground from my arm. My masked prince saved me... **"Crap- AAAAARGH!" **but the exchange was his body, getting nearly cleaved into two by that thing. My masked prince's blood found its way on my strange, white outfit that has a black belt on its waist.**

"SAGASSO, NO!" **I hear Feena and Grey's voice cry out the name of their friend, who is now lying at my feet, convulsing and dying while the thing raises its weapon on the fallen.**

**I then hear a loud explosion from nowhere, which the two ignored since they are concentrating on either saving Sagasso and killing the thing that heavily injured him. My body snapped back in action and shielded the masked prince's body with a strange wind spell while the raven swordsman jumped at the thing's back and started stabbing it randomly from its head and shoulders while throwing fire balls.**

"Faux... Let go... Let go, NOW!" **another loud explosion is heard from nowhere. But I can't focus on it right now. I'm next to my dying masked prince and fighting for our survival. My mind cannot shift its attention on other things as of this moment. **"Tabit... staff!"

-0-0-0-0-

Tabitha and Louise are trying to remove the hands of Kirche from the memory diamond by force. Magic seems to have not worked since there is a staff that has its head completely obliterated. The blunette got even more worried when her companion started mumbling about an abomination and a group of crazed people who are lead by Louise's familiar.

"Stop, please! Sagasso, don't attack him up close and personal! Abandon the fight while you still can!" Kirche's blank eyes started to tear up and her face showed a horrified look in her face.

Louise suddenly perked up when she heard Sagasso's name. Now she knows that the memory diamond that the Germanian is holding belongs to her familiar. And right now, she's getting a firsthand experience of terrible things that her familiar have seen or done. Though she considers the busty Germanian as her rival, she did not wish to see her getting broken by the gemstone that is meant to store precious memories that a person have. Meanwhile, Tabitha is getting desperate as she continues to try and pry off the terrible stone from her best friend's hand. She did not want to see her friend slowly breaking down thanks to the memories that Louise's familiar have.

Then, salvation came in the form of a balding professor named Colbert. He opened the door and entered the room with a smile in his face. When he saw the pinkette and the blunette holding the arms of Kirche, he said to them:

"Miss Valliere, Headmaster Osmond would-..."

"Professor Colbert, help us! We need to remove the gemstone that Zerbst holds before her mind gets broken!" Louise frantically interrupted her teacher's statement. She knows that that was disrespectful, but she is getting desperate right now.

"Let go..." Tabitha gritted her teeth as she focused her meagre strength to try and remove the terrible stone that holds her friend in its thrall, "Let go, Kirche."

"Wha?" Colbert hurriedly went up to them and checked the gemstone that Kirche is holding. Her grip towards it was like a vice, it won't be easy to remove it. He also saw Tabitha's broken staff on the floor; "I guess that normal retrieval spells will not work, eh?" he took out his wand and raised it on the air, "I'm going to heat the diamond enough to force Kirche to let go of it. You two will continue to pull her arms off of the diamond as well."

"No! No! Stop! You're bleeding too much already! Don't go back to the fight and let your friends handle it!" Kirche half-shouted this time, causing panic to the people inside.

"Do it quickly before she loses her mind, Professor!" Louise panicked while Tabitha is beginning to lose her cool exterior and was slowly replaced with a determined look in her face. She did not want to see her friend like this. She did not wish for her to be broken down by a gem that only stores memories of others.

-0-0-0-0-

**Please... don't try to stand up, Sagasso... You have a huge wound on your chest. Please don't stand up! Just stay down and let Grey take care of this. Why didn't you tell him that that thing is way out of your league?! Let me tend on you while your friend take cares of that abomination. The steel of Grey's sword clashed against the steel of the bloody cleaver that is adorned with human skulls many times and backed away from it. Whenever that thing tries to attack me while I treat Sagasso, I always use some sort of a wind spell that has the power of a triangle level mage and the raven swordsman would cleave a part of his protruding limbs. Right now, all he has left is a single pair of both his oversized arms and stubby legs. **

**I wanted to let loose of my contents since blood flows freely from every stumps where that abomination's extra limbs were supposed to be, the stab wounds that my masked prince's companion inflicted, and those hideous burn wounds that were inflicted on its upper body. But I couldn't do that. Right now, even if I'm not in control of this body, I have to treat Sagasso's wounded body. A part of the area where he was slashed mercilessly when he was suddenly rushed by that thing is turning into light purple. **

**Oh gods... was that weapon of that monster poisoned as well?! I have to stop this infection before it gets worse was the only thing that my voice continuously rambled while opening a rucksack that is actually filled with medical supplies that I have never seen in my entire life.**

"Erk... Damn this thing... Fall already, you walking piece of turd!" **I can tell that the raven haired swordsman is beginning to lose his patience. He's starting to be less stylish and more brutal and efficient in his attacks, always going for the throat to try and cut its head off. Unfortunately, the fat zombie keeps on throwing him back on its opposite side.**

"Kirche, snap out of it!" **wait... Where did that voice come from? It sounds so familiar...**

"MEAT... MEAT... MEAT..." **oh no... That thing is rushing towards us after it threw Grey too far for them! No... I must do something!**

**I raised my hand and tried to summon the same wind spell that knocked this creature back. Chanting as fast and properly as possible while a disgusting, patchwork zombie approaches us and keeping Sagasso alive wasn't an easy feat. I saw my bandaged arms tremble as my chanting continues. Grey tries to run towards us, hoping that it was not too late. Founder; please give his legs your strength.**

"Zerbst, let go of it, you faux Succubus!" **another familiar voice is heard in the middle of nowhere. What's going on? Why aren't they taking notice of it?**

**My hands feel hot... very hot... It's like as if my hands are holding a handful of burning coal. Then my vision blurred for the first time. Why am I seeing that zombie having a full crown of long, wavy, pink hair? Why is it that Sagasso's turning bald and wearing round glasses? And why is Grey's skin turning pale by the second? Aaaargh... my hands hurt!**

-0-0-0-0-

"Aaaaaack!" Kirche's hands finally relinquished its hold on the gemstone, much to the three's relief. Her hands may have received some burns, but at least she was not anymore losing her mind thanks to the gem. "What happened here? Why do my fingers hurt?"

"Oh thank Brimir, you're okay Kirche!" Louise sighed as she saw her rival come back to her senses and a small smile starting to form on her face, "... not like I'm worried about you anyway, faux Succubus." she turned her back and tried to hide her smile.

"Miss Zerbst, what happened to you while you were holding that cursed stone?" the professor took out a black handkerchief from his pocket, "I'm taking this stone with me..." using the cloth, Colbert picked up the memory diamond from the ground and bundled it before putting it inside his pocket, "Miss Valliere, I'd like you and Mister Trentwood to come to the Headmaster Osmond's Office." he said before leaving the room, "He'd like to speak with you and him about what happened this morning."

Louise paled a bit when the bald professor told her that she is being called into the headmaster's office.

"Oh and the Duke and the Duchess Valliere and General Gramont will be here as well to confirm what transpired in the duel. The information about your familiar defeating and nearly killing the General's son seems to have spread faster than we have thought." the professor's sighing can be heard outside the room after saying that, "Brimir, I hope that the General will not take this too personally..."

_I'm doomed... _the pinkette's legs gave away and found herself on the ground, shaking and shivering on the possibilities of her getting dragged back to her home.

* * *

Short Skit:

"Mister Trentwood, you lived for a century right?" Siesta asked the masked familiar as they walk the hallway.

"Well, that's a yes. Why did you ask that?" he answered, "Are you uncomfortable with it?"

"Not really... You said that you have children and grandchildren right?" at first she looked at Sagasso while blushing heavily. Her mouth quivered at first, but she decided to gulp her fears and asked, "Howmanychildrendidyouhave?" but she asked in an incredibly quick way.

"Whoa, slow down Siesta. Care to repeat your question?" Sagasso stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned around to face the maid.

"How many children did you have, Mister Trentwood?" taking the advice, the maid asked Sagasso.

"Well..." the masked familiar is glad that she couldn't see his blush forming on his cheeks, "Me and my wife uh... managed to have a lot of children..." he stuttered.

"Really? Could you give me the specific numbers? And how you two did it to make them?" summoning her courage, she dared to ask the forbidden question, causing Sagasso to flinch.

"Eeep..." he couldn't believe that Siesta was this daring. He doesn't know what should he say to her to prevent corrupting her. Little did he know, Siesta is already as corrupted as the faux Succubus named Kirche, "I... uh... have fifteen children, nine girls and six boys. Ten of them are married and managed to give me... uh... twenty five grandchildren..." he is definitely relieved that his mask is great at hiding his embarrassment, "And why should I tell you my closet fetishes? Aren't you too young to ask that kind of question..." at first he sounded angry when he asked his last questions, until he realized that he said something that caused the maid to mysteriously bleed from her nose, "Ignore my last statements..."

"Closet fetishes..." Siesta's mind is now in an another world where a handsome masked prince named Sagasso Trentwood is wearing a risque leather uniform and saying vulgar words while ravishing a certain maid whose limbs are tied on the bed post and roleplaying as a maid getting raped, "Ah... ah... No... not there... please..."

_Note to self... Never talk about my love life in front of Siesta... nor give her a clue about what I can do in the sack... _Sagasso watched as the maid unconsciously act out her darkest desires... in the middle of the corridor.


End file.
